Broom Lake Track Closure
The track around Broom Lake has been closed to vehicles to
prevent any further damage being caused. Members have been
driving off the track causing deep ruts. Some areas of the Type
1 have also become soft where the ground has become waterlogged.
It is anticipated the track will remain closed until the spring
when the ground has dried out sufficiently so that a work party
can been undertaken to repair the damage.
We would also remind all members to ensure the new gate at the
bottom of the track leading to Broom Lake and the Alcove
Syndicate is left closed and locked at all times. The
gates are there to secure our fisheries from unwanted visitors.
Members failing to close and lock this (and any other fishery
gate) will be reported to the committee and can expect to
receive disciplinary action.

Week ending 11th March 2018

Shefford & District AA members enjoyed
some good catches along the Broom River stretch of the Ivel despite
the influx of melted snow and then rain water. Mick Webb was
delighted to catch a brace of perch weighing 3lb 1oz and 3lb
exactly, but was upstaged on the same day by Mick Burr with a perch
of 3llb 6oz. Paul Gurton alternated lobworm gear and trotting
for roach in several swims, and as is often the case did not get his
first bite until late afternoon. The next two hours produced
at least 10 roach between 8oz and a pound, plus a few smaller roach
and a couple of nice dace. The larger roach fought brilliantly
in the flow using light tackle. Meanwhile one of Paul’s
fishing companions managed a perch over 2lb 8oz, whilst another
landed two smaller perch and a couple of pike to 8lb.
With the river season ending on 14th March, members will now have to
concentrate on the stillwaters until the river season resumes on
16th June. The club will be carrying out some access
improvements at Pavenham during March, which will include replacing
a couple of dilapidated stiles with kissing gates and reboarding a
footbridge that crosses a ditch. The first work party is being
held on Friday 16th March from 9.30am with the focus on preparing
the area around the footbridge and adjacent swims, so volunteers
should bring loppers, bow saws, etc. Further work party dates
will be advertised once confirmed. This work is being part
funded by a grant from the Angling Improvement Fund that is
administered by the Angling Trust.
The Shefford & District AA Ltd AGM is being held on Wednesday 28th
March 2018 and the formal agenda for the AGM will appear on the
club’s website.

Week ending 4th March 2018

The ‘Beast from the East’ resulted in
most of Shefford & District AA’s stillwaters becoming totally
covered in ice and the freezing temperatures and snow also kept most
members off the rivers. The final leg of the pike series had
to be cancelled as Willington Lake was still covered in ice on
Sunday.
With only a few days of the river season left, Mick Burr has spent
several sessions on Broom River in pursuit of the large perch.
Several perch graced his landing net, topped by a 3lb 13oz specimen.
Mick’s tactics also produced a 3lb 8oz bream that have become an
increasingly rare sight on this stretch of river in recent years.
The last day of the river season is 14th March and all specimen fish
claims must be received by 16th March 2018.

Week ending 25th Feb 2018

Prior to the arrival of the ‘Beast from
the East’, several Shefford & District AA members had been out on
the bank enjoying the dry and bright conditions. The Airman
was once again the most popular venue with most anglers either
targeting the carp or roach. Although carp had been feeding
through most of the winter they seemed more interested in finding
shallow areas in the margins that were warmed up by sun. Roach
were once again intermittent feeders with short bursts of feeding
activity sandwiched between long periods of inactivity. Kevin
Donovan also had his roach tackle tested by a carp of around 15lb
that was safely brought to the net.
There have been few reports from the river venues and members are
reminder that the river season comes to an end on 14th March.
Broom River has seen far fewer anglers than normal this season but
reports have been received of perch to well over 3lb and chub over
5lb in recent days.
Weather permitting, the final round of the pike series will be
fished at Willington Lake on Sunday 4th March with the lake closed
to anglers not taking part in the pike match (further details can be
obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).

The committee would like to thank the members who attended the work
parties at Broom Lake last weekend. Work parties will
concentrate on Pavenham during March to improve access along the
river bank, with the work being part funded by the Angling
Improvement Fund and work party dates will be publicised once
confirmed.
A reminder that the Shefford & District AA Ltd AGM is being held on
Wednesday 28th March 2018 and all specimen fish claims must be
received by 16th March 2018.

Week ending 18th Feb 2018

The penultimate round of the Shefford &
District AA pike series was held at Willington Lake last Saturday
under bright and mild conditions. First place was taken by
Tony Archer with pike of 9lb 9oz and 7lb 12oz for a total weight of
17lb 5oz. Second place was taken by Dennis Thompson with 3
pike up to 3lb 7oz for a total weight of 8lb 1oz and Bryan Lancaster
was third with a single pike of 3lb 1oz. With one match
remaining Tony Archer has an unassailable 11 series points and is in
pole position for the best fish in the series with his 9lb 9oz
specimen. The final round of the pike series will be fished at
Willington Lake on Sunday 4th March with the lake closed to anglers
not taking part in the pike match (further details can be obtained
from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
Mick Webb is usually found on the club’s river sections but decided
to fish for the roach at The Airman. Mick set up a small
feeder and enjoyed a ‘fish a chuck’ with 46 roach in just 4 hours
for just under 20lb, and thanked Mick Baldwin for giving him some
top tips.
The next work parties are scheduled for Broom Lake with the lake
closed to fishing from 8am Saturday 24th February until 4pm Sunday
25th February. We will have the tree surgeon trimming overhanging
branches and those thought likely to cause problems in the future.
Volunteers are welcome to attend to help deal with the felled
branches and timber.
The Shefford & District AA Ltd AGM is being held on Wednesday 28th
March 2018 so all nominations for director, officer or committee
positions and requests for any business to be moved at the AGM must
be received by 28th February. All specimen fish claims must be
received by 16th March 2018. There are vacancies for both
committee and officer positions for any member wanting to take an
active role in managing the club, with committee meetings taking
place on the second Tuesday evening of each month.

Week ending11th Feb 2018

Catch reports from Shefford & District AA
members have been rather thin on the ground with those who are
catching often reluctant to give away too many details. Alan
Lawrence fished a club stretch of the Great Ouse and was rewarded
with four good chub of 4lb 10oz, 5lb 3oz, 5lb 5oz and 5lb 9oz.
There are only four weeks left of the river season (last day 14th
March) and this is the time of year when many river species are at
their top weights.
The penultimate round of the pike series will be fished at
Willington Lake on Saturday 17th February with the lake closed to
anglers not taking part in the pike match (further details can be
obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
The next work parties scheduled at Broom Lake are on Saturday 24th
February & Sunday 25th February, when we will have the tree surgeon
trimming overhanging branches and those thought likely to cause
problems in the future. If enough volunteers attend we can
hopefully start to make repairs to the track around the lake with
the aim of reopening it in the spring when the waterlogged areas
have dried out.
The Shefford & District AA Ltd AGM is being held on Wednesday 28th
March 2018 so all nominations for director, officer or committee
positions and requests for any business to be moved at the AGM must
be received by 28th February. All cups and trophies must be
returned by 20th February 2018 and all specimen fish claims must be
received by 16th March 2018.

Week ending 28th Jan 2018

Thanks go to those Shefford & District
AA volunteers who were busy over the weekend undertaking a variety
of maintenance work at Broom Lake. Aided by a tree surgeon,
several dangerous trees were made safe and the large (partially
submerged) branches that were growing horizontally across peg 2
almost to the island were successfully removed. Volunteers
collected a large amount of litter from around the lake and also
found several areas being used as a toilet. Please bag
everything up and take it home, otherwise the club risks losing the
fishing rights. The prize find was a broken wash hand basin,
presumably dumped out the back of a vehicle by a so called member,
behind peg 42. Volunteers once again went around the islands
in a boat recovering various items of lost tackle and line,
including a spomb that had been left trailing over 50 yards of heavy
braid in the water that had collected an array of other tackle and
probably led to hooked fish becoming snagged. The next work
parties scheduled at Broom Lake are on Saturday 24th February &
Sunday 25th February, when we will have the tree surgeon trimming
overhanging branches and those thought likely to cause problems in
the future. If enough volunteers attend we can hopefully start
to make repairs to the track around the lake with the aim of
reopening it in the spring. The lake is still producing carp
and venue regular Danny Wright tempted an 18lb 4oz common during one
of his regular short afternoon sessions.
The Airman has proved popular in recent weeks with the new car park
and solid footpath around the lake making access to swims far less
of an ordeal than other venues where the ground is waterlogged.
Good nets of roach have again featured in catches, and whilst most
anglers are happy with nets of roach to just over the pound mark
some anglers are trying to deliberately target the larger redfins
that exceed the 2lb. Whilst most anglers fish with feeder
tactics and red maggot on the hook, Alan Lawrence decide to try
float fishing with a 17ft rod, 2lb 8oz line and a size 16 hook using
punched bread as bait. Alan succeeded in tempting 14 roach to
1lb 12oz but also had his sport interrupted by two carp. In
Alan’s own words “the fight of the carp on this tackle can only be
described as squeaky bum time.” One member landed a double
figure common from one of the car park swims with a bait place
closed in the margins.
The penultimate round of the pike series will be fished at
Willington Lake on Saturday 17th February with the lake closed to
anglers not taking part in the pike match (further details can be
obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819). The Council is
carrying out some tree work within one of the fenced off areas to
make safe some willows that were in danger of falling onto the path
used by anglers accessing swims.
The Club Secretary has requested a reminder to members that all
specimen fish claims must be received by 16th March 2018. Also
all cups and trophies must be returned by 20th February 2018.
The SDAA Ltd AGM is being held on the 28th March so all nominations
for director, officer or committee positions and requests for any
business to be moved at the AGM must be received by 28th February.

Week ending 21st Jan 2018

Most of Shefford & District AA’s river
venues have been swollen by recent rainfall with some venues
threatening to top the banks, but hopefully sport should improve as
water levels begin to recede. On the stillwaters roach and
pike have been the most reliable feeders during the recent spell of
colder weather. The Airman has continued to produce some good
nets of roach for those locating the feeding shoals. A common
theme is to have long periods of inactivity followed by the roach
suddenly switching on the feed with anglers catching fish in quick
succession, before bites dry up. The Airman also hosted the
latest pike match that proved to be an ordeal for those who attended
with the overnight frost followed by snow that slowly turned into
heavy rain. Bryan Lancaster ran out the clear winner with two
pike of 8lb 6oz and 5lb 15oz for a total of 14lb 5oz. Tony
Archer landed the only other pike caught that weighed 4lb 2oz.
This result leaves Tony Archer ahead in the overall pike series with
8 points, whilst Bryan Lancaster and Alfie Archer are tied for
second place with 5 points each.
The penultimate round of the pike series will be fished at
Willington Lake on Saturday 17th February with the lake closed to
anglers not taking part in the pike match (further details can be
obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819). A member recently
landed a 5lb pike at Willington Lake that was in poor condition as
it was trailing another set of trebles on a trace that had appeared
to also snag other lost items of tackle including various hooks,
leads and line. All the hooks and tackle were removed and the
pike returned safely to the water. From the photo provided
this looked like another example where inappropriate tackle had
probably been used and rigs had been poorly designed such that
leads, etc could not be discharged in the event of the main line
breaking.
A reminder that the track around Broom Lake is now closed to
vehicles. Work parties are scheduled at Broom Lake on Saturday
27th January & Sunday 28th January and on Saturday 24th February &
Sunday 25th February, when we will have a tree surgeon trimming
overhanging branches and those thought likely to cause problems in
the future. The lake will be closed during the work parties
and volunteers are encouraged to attend (start time around 9am) to
put cut wood into the chipper and helping to pull cut wood out of
the lake with the ropes provided.
The SDAA Ltd AGM is being held on the 28th March so all nominations
for director, officer or committee positions and requests for any
business to be moved at the AGM must be received by 28th February.
We have already received a positive response from several members
regarding volunteering at future work parties and/or acting as
‘Fishery Wardens’ for a specific venue. If other members are
interested in these (or other) volunteering opportunities within the
club can you please contact us ASAP, ideally by email to:
info@shefforddaa.org.uk

Week ending 14th Jan 2018

Sport on Shefford & District AA
stillwaters has continued to produce some good catches.
However, the first issue to highlight is that a sheep at Willington
Lake was found by the farmer with fishing line wrapped around its
legs, which had broken through the skin and caused an infection that
required treatment with antibiotics. There is no excuse for
any angler leaving line (or any other form of litter) on any of our
waters. Willington Lake is still a productive venue for pike
anglers and the secret for success is often to locate where the
silver fish are shoaled up. Members have also enjoyed some
good catches of roach, with some pegs producing quality redfins
where all the fish are ‘netters’.
Andy Richwood is a regular visitor to Broom Lake and despite the odd
blank his day sessions have produced a string of good carp with
several commons over 20lb, topped by a fish of 25lb 1oz. James
Lamb and Dan Tadgell managed 7 carp between them during a recent 24h
session, which included some fin perfect commons and a stunning
looking mirror carp. James commented that they caught nothing
during the hours of darkness and the carp started to feed in areas
where the sun hit the water during the morning. The track
around Broom Lake is now closed to vehicles and it is anticipated
the track will remain closed until repairs have been undertaken in
the spring. Work parties are scheduled at Broom Lake on
Saturday 27th January & Sunday 28th January and on Saturday 24th
February & Sunday 25th February, when we will have a tree surgeon
trimming overhanging branches and those thought likely to cause
problems in the future. The lake will be closed during the
work parties and volunteers are encouraged to attend to put cut wood
into the chipper and helping to pull cut wood out of the lake with
the ropes provided.
The Airman has continued to produce some good nets of roach with
fish seemingly shoaled in several areas of the lake. The perch
fishing has also shown improvement with 2lb fish being caught
regularly and the odd perch occasionally topping 3lb. The next
match in the pike series will be held at The Airman on Sunday 21st
January with the lake closed to anglers not taking part in the pike
match (further details can be obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810
454819).
There have been surprisingly few reports from our river venues.
Stephen Creasey landed a 5lb 5oz jack pike from downstream of
Stanford Lock, whilst further downstream on Broom River several
perch to over 2lb have been reported but the bigger specimens are
proving elusive.
In the build-up to the AGM on the 28th March the Committee is
reviewing how maintenance work is carried out on SDAA waters and who
does it. We are evaluating what we can do ourselves and what we need
to get contractors in to do for us. Like all clubs we do not usually
get as many volunteers as we would like at work parties, so we are
putting out a special request to all members. If you are interested
in volunteering at future work parties can you please let us know in
the near future, ideally by email to:
info@shefforddaa.org.uk
As part of our review of the maintenance of SDAA waters, the
Committee also want to recruit volunteers to act as 'Fishery
Wardens' for each of our waters. The role involves identifying and
reporting on issues arising on each water and putting forward
solutions to these issues for Committee consideration. One for Broom
Lake is already in place, so ideally we would like ones for The
Airman, Willington & Stanford Pit and at least one for our river
portfolio. It would also be ideal if the 'Fishery Wardens' were on
the Committee as well, but this is not essential. The Committee
meets 12 times per year on the 2nd Tuesday evening of each month in
Shefford. If you are interested in volunteering as a Fishery
Warden contact us ASAP, ideally by email to:
info@shefforddaa.org.uk

Week ending 7th Jan 2018

With fish now more acclimatised to colder
water temperatures sport on Shefford & District AA stillwaters has
started to show some improvement. After a string of common
carp to 23lb from Broom Lake towards the end of last year, Danny
Wright’s last 3 carp have all been mirrors from the batches of AJS
Fisheries carp stocked a few years ago. His last two short
stints have produced mirrors of 9lb and 10lb. The smaller
mirror managed to find a snag close to the bank that Danny managed
to free the fish from. Pulling part of the snag out of the
lake, Danny found a mid double carp tethered to a lost rig and the
carp was safely freed, unhooked and returned to the lake.
The depth of The Airman means the water temperatures remain fairly
constant at this time of year and members are now reporting some
good nets of roach from some areas of the lake. Kevin Wilkins
managed to land a 18lb 2oz mirror carp on his latest trip. The
next match in the pike series will be held at The Airman on Sunday
21st January with the lake closed to anglers not taking part in the
pike match (further details can be obtained from Bryan Lancaster
07810 454819).

Week ending 31st Dec 2017

With temperatures constantly fluctuating
over the holiday period none of Shefford & District AA waters has
shown any consistent form. The rivers were worse hit with snow
melt and then heavy rain seeing levels rapidly rise, with several
stretches of the Ouse being in flood. However, anglers
catching the rivers fining down should expect improved sport.
Michael Webb fished Broom River on Christmas Eve and was rewarded
with a solitary 5lb 4oz chub on homemade cheese paste, which was his
only bite of the day.
The Christmas pike pairs match held at Willington Lake on Saturday
30th December saw eight anglers fishing under what appeared to be
perfect conditions. However, the pike were not in an obliging
mood and Stuart Lancaster landed the only pike of the day with the
3lb 8oz jack ensuring Stuart and his brother Bryan secure the prizes
for both the winning pair and the biggest pike of the day. The
next match in the pike series will be held at The Airman on Sunday
21st January with the lake closed to anglers not taking part in the
pike match (further details can be obtained from Bryan Lancaster
07810 454819).
Members will find a new vehicle gate at the bottom of the track
leading to both the Alcove Syndicate (formerly known as Ivel Valley
Fisheries) and Broom Lake. This gate is fitted with a single
lock and members should ensure the gate is left locked after
entering or leaving. The lock is fitted with a special barrel that
works with both the SDAA A10 key and the Alcove Syndicate's key,
thus avoiding the need for two separate locks. All other locks
on SDAA waters will only accept the A10 key. With the ground
becoming increasingly waterlogged it is likely that the track around
Broom Lake will soon need to be closed to avoid further damage
caused by vehicles straying onto soft ground.
With the vegetation dying back the perennial problem of litter being
thrown into the undergrowth is once again evident. The worse
effected fishery is The Airman where litter and discarded bait help
attract vermin. A small minority of anglers show no respect
for the fisheries and one member fishing The Airman packed up in
disgust after discovering the swim he was fishing had recently been
used twice as a toilet by another thoughtless member.

Week ending 17th Dec 2017

The melting snow saw most Shefford &
District AA members struggling on river venues with levels rising
rapidly and water temperatures just above freezing. Stillwater
anglers have also had to endure some waters being covered in ice
following several frosty nights with pike and roach being the most
reliable feeders. Fortunately milder conditions are forecast
over the festive period and this should see fish being more inclined
to feed.
A Christmas pike pairs match will be held at Willington Lake on
Saturday 30th December with the lake closed to anglers not taking
part in the pike match. Match entry fee will be £20 per pair with
all monies paid out as prizes on the day. Please note the
rules for this pairs match differ slightly from the rules in the
pike series, i.e. livebaiting will not be allowed and each
competitor is limited to fishing with two rods (further details can
be obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
With several new public and permissive footpaths currently being
created between Broom and Stanford, members will notice some changes
to access over the next few weeks. The first will be an
additional vehicle gate at the bottom of the track leading to both
the Alcove Syndicate (formerly known as Ivel Valley Fisheries) and
Broom Lake. This gate will be fitted with two locks and one
will be the SDAA lock that requires the ‘A10’ key. Members
should ensure this gate is left locked at all times and in such a
way that the Alcove Syndicate lock is not by-passed.
Contractors working on behalf of Tarmac plan to fit a vehicle gate
to the small parking area near Jordans Mill and a pedestrian gate on
the track leading up to Broom River from Broom Lake. These
will also be fitted with the club’s lock to deter unwanted visitors.

Week ending 10th Dec 2017

Despite the excellent sport that can be
enjoyed on Shefford & District AA river venues, relatively few
members fish the rivers these days and with only 3 months left of
the river season left perhaps it is time to give the rivers a try.
Two recent captures should help convince members to head for the
rivers. Julian Peacock was absolutely delighted to set a new
personal best in the shape of a 2lb 5oz 12dr roach caught on a
‘local river’ using a single caster as bait. Alan Lawrence
loves fishing for chub and a recent session on the River Flit
produced three chub between 2lb and 4lb, but just on dusk Alan was
rewarded with a fine specimen chub of 6lb 4oz. With fish often
tightly shoaled at this time of year it is often best to adopt a
mobile approach until the fish have been located.
The arrival of the snow led to the cancellation of the latest round
of the pike series. A one off Christmas pike match will be held at
Willington Lake on Saturday 30th December with the lake closed to
anglers not taking part in the pike match. Match entry fee will be
£20 per pair with all monies paid out as prizes on the day (further
details can be obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).

Week ending 3rd Dec 2017

Shefford & District AA is delighted to
announce that it has been awarded a grant from the Angling Trust
through the latest round of the Angling Improvement Fund to help
improve access across field boundaries and to swims at Pavenham.
Tasks will include replacing dilapidated stiles with kissing gates,
reboarding a footbridge across a ditch and tree work to reopen some
popular swims. The club will be providing additional funding
and the volunteers who will undertake the work during a series of
work parties in the New Year. A condition of the award is that
work must be completed by the end of March. Any volunteers
wanting to help should contact Richard Bell (info@shefforddaa.org.uk)
as the work party dates could be impacted by the weather and/or
state of the river.
Danny Wright has continued to enjoy success in his short two hour
sessions at Broom Lake squeezed in after work. Danny has
mainly been catching common carp to over 20lb, but a recent trip
included a 10lb beautiful ‘fully scaled’ mirror carp that was
identified as one of the 75 C3 AJS ‘scaley’ carp stocked a few years
ago. Elsewhere, Michael Webb probably thought he had latched
into a monster perch on Broom River, but when the fish came to the
net it turned out to be a hard fighting 4lb carp. Michael Webb
also visited the river Flit and managed three plump chub of 3lb
12oz, 3lb 14oz and 4lb 2oz.
Please note the fourth round of the pike series will be held at
Willington Lake on Sunday 10th December with the lake closed to
anglers not taking part in the pike match (further details can be
obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).

Week ending 26th Nov 2017

Nine anglers attended the third round of
the Shefford & District AA pike series fished at The Airman last
Saturday. Kevin Williams landed four pike between 6lb and 7lb
12oz for a winning total weight of 27lb. Tony Archer was
second with two pike for 8lb 7oz whilst junior Alfie Archer was
third with a single pike of 6lb. The fourth round of the pike
series will be held at Willington Lake on Sunday 10th December with
the lake closed to anglers not taking part in the pike match
(further details can be obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810
454819).
Young 8 year old Jack Gaby enjoyed a mixed bag on a recent trip to
The Airman consisting of an 11lb mirror carp, a jack pike and some
roach. Several anglers have enjoyed some good bags of silver
fish comprising of roach, skimmer bream and perch, with several
perch well over the 2lb mark being reported.
A weekend work party is being planned for Broom Lake to manage some
of the trees around the lake. The date has been provisionally
set for 9th and 10th of December.
Shefford & District AA is again offer ‘half-year’ membership this
season that will be valid from 1st December 2017 through to 15th
June 2018 (prices: Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors
£10). Full details can be found on the membership section of
the SDAA website. Half year books are now available from all
our usual outlets, except Shaden Fishing Tackle in Luton who will
have them available the week commencing 11th December

Week ending 19th Nov 2017

As autumn draws to an end the more hardy
Shefford & District AA members are preparing for their winter
campaigns. The key to success during the colder months will be
being in the right place at the right time to locate the fish that
are willing to feed. Danny Wright has been squeezing in short
two hour trips to Broom Lake after work. Danny’s latest trip
produced common carp of 23lb and 12lb 8oz, whilst his previous
session resulted in a 21lb 8oz common.
The silver fish are now tightly shoaled on many venues and bumper
catches will still be possible throughout the winter if the feeding
shoals are located. Where there are shoals of silver fish the
predators will not be far away. To prove this point Kevin
Wilkins had a bumper catch of twelve pike from a small area of an
undisclosed SDAA venue on Sunday.
Shefford & District AA is again offer ‘half-year’ membership this
season that will be valid from 1st December 2017 through to 15th
June 2018 (prices: Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors
£10). Full details can be found on the membership section of
the SDAA website.
Recently a SDAA bailiff summoned the police to deal with individuals
who were found on a club water without membership books. The
police escorted them off the fishery for fishing without permission,
which is a criminal offence under the Theft Act. The club is
working with local police forces under ‘Operation Traverse’ to deal
with illegal fishing and fish theft across both Bedfordshire and
Cambridgeshire.
Members should also be aware that Environment Agency enforcement
officers actively visit our waters and unfortunately several members
have been prosecuted by the EA in recent years and received hefty
fines. The most common offences have been fishing with 3 rods
with a rod licence that only covers the use of 2 rods and fishing
with multiple rods where the butts of the outer rods were more than
3m apart. Please make sure you are familiar with all the EA
bylaws and a link to these can be found on the SDAA website.
Finally, the Angling Trust have asked us to make it clear that the
club’s public liability insurance only covers SDAA members when they
are engaged in activities connected with the club. Therefore,
members are usually only covered whilst fishing or carrying out
volunteer work on SDAA and IPA waters. The policy wording also
states members are also only covered whilst conforming to the club’s
rules and by-laws. Individual membership of the Angling Trust
can provide public liability insurance for all your other angling
activities worldwide.

Week ending 12th Nov 2017

The Shefford & District AA committee have agreed to again offer
‘half-year’ membership this season that will be valid from 1st
December 2017 through to 15th June 2018 (prices: Full £40,
Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors £10). ‘Half-year’
membership books will be available from our usual outlets towards
the end of November. The membership section of the SDAA
website will also be updated with details of the ‘half-year’
membership fees and a ‘half-year’ application form for those wanting
to submit a postal application. Please note that night fishing
at The Airman, Broom Lake and Willington Lake requires optional
Night Permits (there is no part year discount on these Night
Permits).
Following work done by IPA appointed contractors, the Sandy New Road
fisheries on the River Ivel are again accessible and fishable. The
paths have been strimmed and some 25 swim access points created.
Some of the swims still have marginal reeds and weed in front of
them, so an extending landing net handle would be useful.
Historically these stretches produced fine chub catches as well as
other species during the winter months. We encourage members
to go and try this welcome return to the fishable river portfolio
and look forward to receiving reports from those who do.
More locally the EA will be carrying out maintenance on Broom sluice
(Jordans Mill) for up to 8 weeks from late November and the club has
been assured these works will have no significant impact on the
water levels on Broom River.
Please note the highly invasive Floating Pennywort is present on
most sections of the Great Ouse downstream of Bedford. The
river at Willington is currently the worst affected SDAA water but
is also present at Little Barford and Little Paxton. Members
should adhere to the ‘Check, Clean and Dry’ procedures for all
tackle, nets, boots, etc to ensure this non-native species is not
spread to other rivers or stillwaters.

Week ending 5th Nov 2017

The second leg of the Shefford & District
AA Ltd pike series attracted 9 members to Willington Lake and 14
pike were caught in total. Tony Archer landed five pike to 8lb
3oz for a total weight of 25lb 14oz to win the match. Alex
Mortimer was second with three pike for 14lb 3oz and junior member
Alfie Archer third with 3 pike for 10lb 9oz. Jack Lancaster
had two pike for 4lb 3oz and Hos Graham a single pike of 4lb 2oz.
The third match in the series will be held on Saturday 25th November
at The Airman and further details can be obtained from Bryan
Lancaster (07810 454819).

Michael Webb managed to net three good perch from an undisclosed
club venue with perch of 2lb 9oz, 2lb 14oz and a cracking 3lb 11oz
specimen.

Week ending 22nd Oct 2017

Firstly, a reminder about Shefford &
District AA Ltd matches for the rest of the season. The
standard monthly matches usually held on the last Sunday of the
month have been cancelled for the rest of the season; therefore, the
match planned for 29th October at Willington Lake will not take
place and the whole venue is available for members. The pike
series will continue as advertised in the membership with the next
round being held on Sunday 5th November at Willington Lake and
further details can be obtained from Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819).
The path leading from the designated car park and along the
allotment bank at Little Paxton has been recently strimmed to allow
members easier access to the swims in the weir pool.
Similarly, the brambles have been cut back along the footpath
leading off Alington Road to the club’s new stretch at Little
Barford. Please note the Environment Agency have been informed
of the highly invasive non-native Floating Pennywort that is present
at both of these venues, in common with many parts of the Ouse in
this area. If any member spots Floating Pennywort at any other
club venue please inform a member of the committee immediately.
Broom Lake has continued to fish well for carp during the week with
Jay Plume managing to tempt a 21lb 8oz common carp on his latest
session. There are plans to install an additional gate at the
bottom of the access track leading to both Broom Lake and the
adjacent syndicate lake in order to deter members of the public
straying off the new public footpath. Existing keys will fit
the SDAA lock and the syndicate will have their own lock.
Several work parties are being planned at Broom Lake and advanced
notice will be given as they will involve closure of the lake.

Week ending 15th Oct 2017

The first round of the Shefford &
District AA Ltd pike series was fished in unseasonably warm and
bright conditions at Broom Lake. Although none of the larger
pike put in an appearance, several anglers managed to catch.
First place was taken by junior member Alfie Archer with pike of 3lb
2oz and 5lb 5oz for a total weight of 8lb 7oz. Second
place was taken by Bryan Lancaster with pike of 3lb 10oz and 3lb 5oz
for a total weight of 6lb 15oz. Third place was taken by Tony
Archer with pike of 3lb 2oz and 3lb 3oz for a total weight of 6lb
5oz. The next round of the pike series will be held on Sunday
5th November at Willington Lake, a venue that has produced some
excellent pike catches in recent seasons (further details can be
obtained from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819). Due to poor
attendances the standard monthly matches have been cancelled for the
rest of the season and therefore the match planned for 29th October
at Willington Lake will not now take place.
Darren Brown fished a recent 24h session at The Airman and was
rewarded with a single run just before he packed up that
resulted in a 25lb 4oz mirror carp, one of the older residents of
the lake. Broom Lake has seen plenty of carp being caught and
Jay Plume tempted an 18lb common carp from only a few rod lengths
out as darkness fell and the high winds caused by Hurricane Ophelia
began to abate. Earlier in the week David Hawkes was pleased
to catch a mid double common carp on his ‘sleeper rod’ whilst
concentrating on fishing for silver fish on his other rod.
Venue regular Andy Richwood landed several carp in a single session
choosing to fish on the windward bank, which is often the most
productive area on a windy day. Although the grapevine is full
of tales of good captures from both lake and river venues it would
appear there is a growing trend amongst members who are unwilling to
publicise their catches.

Week ending 8th Oct 2017

It is worth reminding Shefford & District
AA Ltd members that there are only 5 months to go until the end of
the river season. The weed on most river venues has now
started to die back giving members the opportunity to explore the
many miles of the club’s flowing water fisheries. Mick Burr
has kicked off his annual campaign on Broom River with a 3lb 3oz
perch, a venue where Mick has an excellent record of perch over 4lb
in recent seasons. Other anglers have also reported some good
roach turning up in catches along this length.
The first pike match of the season will be held at Broom Lake on
Saturday 14th October with the lake closed to anglers not taking
part in the pike match (further details can be obtained from Bryan
Lancaster 07810 454819). Broom Lake has continued to
produce a number of carp to just over 20lb, with several anglers
enjoying multiple catches when fishing in open water, rather than
tight to the islands. Please note that the use of bait boats
is banned on all club waters.
Although The Airman is often associated with larger species, several
members have been enjoying good catches of roach on both float and
ledger tactics. With little or no colour in the water the
roach tend to be tightly shoaled. Catches regularly feature
redfins over the pound mark and there is always the chance of
catching one of the sought after 2lb specimens.

Week ending 24th Sept 2017

With water temperatures dropping,
autumn is often the most productive time of the year for many
species on Shefford & District AA Ltd waters. Regular carp
anglers at Willington Lake are often reluctant to share information
about their captures, so we thank Richard Hodges for reporting his
28lb 4oz mirror caught on a recent trip to the venue. Pleasure
anglers are still enjoying good mixed nets of roach, rudd and bream
on both float and feeder tactics.
Sport on river venues should start to improve once some colour gets
back into the water and the weed starts to die off. Our new
venue at Little Barford has already produced some good mixed bags of
predominantly roach with dace, chub, perch, bream and tench also
featuring in catches. Large carp have been spotted over the
summer months, but there are no reports of any being caught.
Like all SDAA waters, this venue is strictly members only and day
tickets are not available.
Many traditionalists view 1st October as the start of the pike
fishing and SDAA offer plenty of suitable waters for pike anglers to
target. Despite their ferocious appearance, pike are very
fragile fish and need to be handled with great care and anyone
fishing for this species should do so with appropriate tackle.
The Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain website provides some
excellent advice about how to fish for pike. Please note that
at The Airman the use of double and treble hooks is banned until the
end of October as the catfish are still active. The club runs
a series of pike matches from October through to March. The
first pike match is being held at Broom Lake on 14th October and
further details can be obtained from Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819).
Members wanting to fish for zander will find this species in our
Great Ouse venues at Little Barford and Little Paxton.

Week ending 3rd Sept 2017

One of our club members enjoyed a very
productive few hours fishing on the river Ouse behind Willington
Lake and managed a great mixed bag of half a dozen chub and perch
and a small Ruffe on the float. This club member reported his
success through the clubs facebook page. This is a good medium for
other club members who can appreciate where the fishing is best and
is encouraged for and by all. It doesn’t matter if you catch a
specimen or a narly old tiddler,report it in and let club members
enjoy your success.
The dive planned for the 16th September has been cancelled therefore
the Airman will not be closed on that day. The cancellation is
unavoidable, due to illness, however Bedford Sub-aqua are still keen
to re-visit the Airman and assist with the removal of the
obstructions when they are in a position to do so. The committee
will advise when re arranged.
Anyone visiting the Airman and seeing the dive notice still
displayed on the gate please feel free to remove it, thanks.
It was pleasing to see 15 anglers turn up to the cat match. what a
shame the fish didn’t show up in numbers ! However those that
caught,caught!!

Ron Holmes & Mark Elek Palmer had a kitten each but did not get them
witnessed so one of them missed out on 40 pounds for second in the
pool that meant Richard walked away with all the prizes.
Lez Reed managed a carp, 8 bream & a Tench. Most of the anglers, as
expected had tales of lost fish & dropped runs and what might have
happened if…
The committee and particularly, the Match Secretary Nigel gilbert
would like to congratulate James as his second place wins him the
night series. This was a hard fought series which did come down to
the last match where Nigel had to finish (at worst) 2 places behind
James to win but with so much pressure on the last match could only
manage to blank.
On other matters looking after the husbandry of the club several of
the committee members have been out in recent days clearing up
various venues. Thanks to Nigel for strimming some of the swims at
the Airman to reduce the encroachment of nettles. Many thanks to
club member, Martin Sharpe for being Banksman.
New speed limit signs have been placed around Broom Lake and the
deeper holes around the track have been filled.Memebers are
requested to keep to the speed limits and keep to the track to avoid
new holes appearing and the edges of the track becomes a mud bath.
Again a thanks to a new member Dave ? who handed a reel he had found
in peg 2. To one of our Bailiffs. It is a Shakespeare xk 3000.
if anyone reports it missing please get in touch with a member of
the committee
Unfortunately some club members continue to infringe the rules and
make life difficult for others and I would like to bring to
everyone’s attention two incidents:
A club member left a carrier bag full of rubbish in “the bay”. It
contained 3 large empty pellet bags, pizza boxes, coke bottles a
hemp tin & an empty packet of b&h dual. Can club members remember to
take their rubbish home with them and leave the swim clear for the
next occupants use. Every page in your membership book states
“Strictly no alcohol OR LITTER
I have reported on incidents such as this before however another
“death rig” was found as Andrew Riley was clearing lost tackle from
the islands at Broom Lake.The line was an excessive breaking strain
around 50lb I have mentioned the clubs coaching team and all members
have access to them and they will be delighted to show any club
member how to fix competent rigs which are fish friendly. Details of
who to contact are at the back of your membership books.

Week ending 27th August 2017

Good conditions saw our anglers
returning to the waters in numbers and one, James Turvey was
rewarded with a specimen bream of9lb 1oz a weight some of our carp
anglers would be proud of which he took from Willington.
I have attached a picture of the 9lb 1oz Bream that he caught from
Willington on the 19th August 2017.
Willington also proved fruitful for last week's match with all
anglers catching mixed bags of silverfish. Pike were problematic
nipping off the smaller fish (one being feisty enough to nip at
Nigel's hand and draw blood! One up to the fish I think) Nigel if
you need any help with handling Pike the club has a full coaching
team who would be delighted to help)
Results were;

1st david baker 5lb 6oz mixed silvers on the waggler
2nd john salmon 5lb 2oz mixed silvers on the pole
3rd nigel gilbert 4oz on the waggler. (2 roach in the last 5
minutes)

A reminder for the next catfish match to be held at the Airman,
whilst you can turn up on the day the pegs are limited to 18 and 12
anglers have already subscribed. If you are looking to take part it
is recommended you apply through the club website or speak directly
to the match organiser, Nigel whose telephone number is on your club
books. You can text or e mail him.

Week ending 20th August 2017

As the summer weather remains
temperate the fish are continuing to feed and from reports being
received of good catches across all our fisheries it seems dads are
heading back to the waters after a long summer break to get some
down time away from the kids!! Dads ;the club encourages our next
generation of members and with the fisheries being so productive at
the moment now is a great opportunity to get your kids back to
nature, bond with them and set them up with a fulfilling lifelong
hobby. The likely hood is they will catch a whacker and be hooked
for life like the rest of us. We would expect reports of large perch
being caught from the Broom river and from behind Jordan's mill as
the summer fades and there is nothing simpler than a bit of stalking
fish with a link ledger set up and a lobworm on a size ten. There
has been a 4pounder out of those rivers in the past, imagine a young
anglers face if they caught one like that!One angler reported a good
mixed bag from Willington earlier in the week on the float. He
fed positively to retain the fish in his swim. His catch
consisted mainly of roach up to a pound with a few bream and a
decent perch. He bumped off a couple of larger fish that were
probably tench. Asking for further information , the angler, who
doesn’t use a keepnet said he had over 30lb of fish. The
bream were in the 2lb bracket so relatively young fish. He
only joined this year but is a very experienced ex-match angler.
He has had a number of good catches, but believes he is still only
scratching the surface of what the lake is capable of producing.
One of our lakes gave up a lovely 20plus ghostie to one of our
members, Tony who does not wish to disclose where he caught such a
prize specimen, the capture was witnessed by one of the committee.
The exploratory dive which was scheduled for the 19th August was
postponed due to ill health of one of the divers but this does give
members the opportunity to report any snags at the Airman which may
need to be removed so that , when the dive is rearranged we can send
them down to see if such snags can be removed.

Week ending 13th August 2017

Broom lake proved just how well it
has been fishing recently at last weekend’s 24 hour match which was
attended by 7 anglers in a keenly fought competition, all anglers
caught fish in a variety of species:

The next match is scheduled for 27th August at Willington with the
draw commencing at 08.30 a.m, details in the club book and on the
websiteSheffordDAA.org.uk
Meanwhile one of the clubs respected specimen hunters, Alan Lawrence
found himself at Willington Lake where he had an exceptionally
productive session on block end feeder and two maggots on the hook.
Alan took a haul of 8 quality fish being. 4 tench from 5lb 11oz to a
classic looking tench of 8lb 5oz and 3 good roach about the 1lb
mark.
The club is looking to recruit bailiffs to join an already
established team, any club member wishing to learn more about the
role and responsibilities please contact Kevin Williams on 07921
517683 who will be delighted to talk you through.
After several months of negotiations, Tarmac have agreed to put a
gate on the car park by Jordans mill. Whilst no date has been
finalised this will be a welcome to anglers using the river by the
disused lock and behind the Jordans factory.
It has been highlighted that divers have been invited to the Airman
to conduct searches for snags which will be subsequently removed. If
any club member has knowledge of swims which may contain substantial
snags then the committee would appreciate you making us aware so
that the divers can be directed to them.

Week ending 6th August 2017

The rivers are now beginning to show
their true summer colours with reports of barbel being regular
visitors to the bank at Little Paxton together with the attendant
chub. The smaller shoal fish such as roach and dace are featuring
regularly so for those hardy enough to be caught by the rivers in
between showers there is a good chance of a high quality mixed bag
with the opportunity of a specimen. Earlier in the year a plus 13lb
barbel was taken so the chances are high.
Those fishing broom Lake are saying that the bream are on the feed
and it is likely those taking the more relaxed approach can bag up
on skimmers to slabs, method or feeder being the chosen approach.
The recent 24 hour match at the Airman last weekend confirms that
fish from all species are feeding well
1st Nigel Gilbert 63 lb 10 oz consisting of 8 bream from 4lb 1oz-5lb
15oz. 2 cats 5lb 4oz & 14lb 6oz & 4lb 4 1/2 oz of silvers.
Nigel also lost 3 other cats through the course of the match.
2nd James Turvey 20lb 14 oz. a cat of 18lb 4oz & a tench of 2lb
10oz.
3rd David Baker 4lb 7oz of silvers
4th Kevin Wilkins 2lb 10oz silvers but would have had more if it
wasn’t for pike taking many of his roach.
Things are certainly looking promising for the 24 hour catfish match
scheduled for 1st September.
The next match is to be held at Broom Lake and this is another 24
hour event 12 and 13th August. Details are in your club books or on
the website.
A reminder to members is that work is to commence shortly at the
Airman to clear some of the snags which have been causing problems
with lost tackle and this will commence with a test dive which will
show exactly what can be removed. After discussions with Bedford
Sub-Aqua club the test dive has been scheduled for Saturday 19th
August. This will not involve closure of the lake however swims at
the far end of the lake will not be available during the dive. It is
hoped the test dive will identify snags in the lake and enable plans
to be made for their removal during the 16th September dive.
Finally whilst the waters are being so productive there is always
the opportunity to land a specimen and win one of the annual club
trophies. Several entries have been received and claims remain open
until the 18th of March 2018 when they must be in the hands of the
club secretary.

Week ending 30th July 2017

There was a disappointing turnout for
the latest Shefford & District AA Ltd monthly match fished at The
Airman. Dave Baker won the match with a repectable 8lb 6oz net
of roach caught on waggler and maggot, second was Nigel Gilbert with
6lb of roach and a single skimmer bream using waggler and sweetcorn,
with John Harrison third with 9oz of roach. The next two
matches form part of the 24 h series contested at The Airman on
5th/6th August and Broom Lake on 12th/13th August. Night
permits are not required to fish these overnight matches and the
venue will be closed to anglers not fishing the 24h matches from
midnight on the evening prior to the match, please contact
Nigel Gilbert (07931 215778 evenings & weekends only) for further
details.

SDAA are pleased to welcome back Bedford Sub-Aqua Club to The Airman
to investigate the removal of snags from within the water. They will
be attending on Saturday 19th August to carry out test dives to
identify areas requiring attention. This will not require closure of
the lake but will restrict swim availability and cause some
disruption during the test dives, especially at the northern end of
the water. They will then return on Saturday 16th September to try
and remove some of the snags, during which time no angling will be
permitted. Further information will follow and notices will be
posted at the venue.
Contractors have started cropping the cricket bat willows behind
Broom Lake and this work could take several weeks. Please take
extra care when driving around the lake and respect all notices, as
the contractors will be using the track for access and removing the
timbers and some of the trees being cropped are close to the track
and the path leading up to the river.

Week ending 23rd July 2017

There are plenty of catch reports
from Shefford & District AA Ltd waters this week from both river and
Stillwater venues. On the rivers Julian Peacock tackled the
river Flit after some recent rain and landed a new PB dace of 11oz
8dr, not the biggest fish reported this week but a very notable dace
and this species appears to be flourishing in several sections of
this tiny river. Come the back end of the river season the Flit
could produce a dace over a pound, which is a very rare sight on any
river. Alan Lawrence paid a visit to the Ouse at Pavenham were
he tempted 4 chub of 3lb 9oz, 4lb 11oz, 5lb 14oz
and a pristine looking specimen of 6lb 2oz, all taken using a one
swan shot link ledger with a paste bait wrapped around a 14mm cork
ball.
Prior to his river trip, Alan Lawrence had visited The Airman where
he had no fewer than 10 tench during a day session, the best going
8lb 1oz taken just on dark, plus two bream around 6lb each.
All Alan’s fish were caught using maggots as bait in
conjunction with a block end feeder. Jay Plume also reported a nice
tench on ‘the method’ feeder with a cut down boilie as bait.
Other anglers have enjoyed good nets of roach with an abundance of
redfins in the 4-6oz bracket, these fish often being caught
relatively close in on the pole. Carp and catfish are being
caught but the captors are reluctant to publicise their details.
A reminder that cropping of the cricket bat willows behind Broom
Lake was due to start on 24th July. Last Thursday a committee
member reported tench up to 4.5lb were being caught along the
farmer’s field side. One of the captors, Michael Ward,
commented he had been enjoying some good night sessions, including
one catch of 9 bream, 2 carp and a tench. Thomas Parker had
caught a 19lb common and an 8lb mirror and reported that,
apart from the previous couple of weeks, he been catching regularly
with his best fish a common carp over 25lb. Sandie Cornell had
only one bream to report on the day, but she had recently landed her
PB carp of 23lb 3oz, which was a common. She had also enjoyed
5 fish and 6 fish carp hauls recently during her regular day
sessions. Martin Reynolds was catching bream, perch and a
crucian over 3lb, whilst venue regular John Wigg was catching plenty
of roach up to 8oz. Jay Plume fished the pole with 6mm pellets
and included a 3lb 8oz tench. Ian Palmer landed 4 carp in two
hours on Friday night, between 10pm and midnight, comprising of
commons of 11lb, 17lb and 22lb, and a mirror of 12lb. Ian
reported that the smallest common was trailing another rig in its
mouth with poorly tied knots and the hook length attached to a
length of line in excess of 20lb breaking strain, also as the bait
was a fake pellet bait it would be a permanently fishing rig that
could be repeatedly picked up by other fish. Fortunately Ian
was able to remove the offending rig and the fish swam away
strongly. Unfortunately we have also had reports of several
vehicles speeding along the track around the lake. Not only is
this potentially dangerous to other anglers present it also causes
damage to the track, especially when the track is damp, which will
ultimately lead to the track being closed.
Anglers are still enjoying good catches of silver fish from
Willington Lake on a variety of tactics, although sport is often
interrupted when pike are attracted to the feeding activity.
Andy Garner managed to tempt pike using lures, but members should
remember that despite their fearsome reputation pike need to be
handled with great care, especially during the summer months, and
may need to be held in the water for several minutes before release
to ensure the pike has fully recovered.
A number of matches are coming up in the next few weeks and all
matches are free for members to enter with an optional pools, please
contact Nigel Gilbert (07931 215778 evenings & weekends only)
for further details. The Airman will host the next monthly
match on Sunday 30th July with pegs 2-12 reserved for the match.
The 24 h series is then contested at The Airman on 5th/6th August
and Broom Lake on 12th/13th August, please note night permits are
not required to fish these overnight matches and the lake will be
closed to anglers not fishing the 24h matches

Week ending 16th July 2017

Catch reports from SDAA waters are few
and far between this week, but The Airman produced a 49lb 12oz
catfish for Martin Sharpe whilst peter Gill tempted a 26lb 8oz carp
on a surface bait. Some members have again commented that
anglers appear to arrive at The Airman with the intent of using it
as a land fill site and proceed to fire out several kilos of bait
irrespective of whether the fish are feeding or not. The
committee would recommend that anglers feed in moderation and not
attempt to feed every fish in the lake. The Airman is only 4
acres in size and there is a finite limit to how much bait the fish
can feed on.
Despite a lack of reports on carp captures, Willington Lake
continues to produce some excellent nets of silver fish. Nigel
Gilbert targeted one of the swims along the track and took a
procession of roach to just over the pound mark using sweetcorn as
bait on float tactics. Most fish were in the 4-6oz rand and a
switch to method feeder resulted in a similar stamp of fish.
The club held a fishing tackle auction and sold several items which
had been collected by the club and held in a library raising £172
that has been donated back to Club Funds. SDAA has also
supported the Leiston Youth and Community Angling Society, a small
fishing club in Suffolk, by donating a range of tackle to support
their efforts to support juniors taking up angling. Leiston
Youth & Community Angling Society (LYCAS) are currently teaching 32
children between the ages of 6 and 14 how to fish, which is a really
worthwhile venture, especially as there has been a dramatic fall in
national junior rod licence sales in recent years.
With the continued hot and dry weather it has been decided, that for
the benefit of the fish in Stanford Pit, that fishing be suspended
with immediate effect until further notice. Water levels
continue to fall and any members walking past the pit who see fish
in distress are asked to contact any of the committee so that the
committee can decide upon next actions.
Whilst on the subject of fish welfare, several dead fish have been
reported across SDAA waters. Dead carp may be the result of
stress due to spawning whilst dead pike may simply be due to the
stress of being caught and hand handled during hot weather.
The SDAA committee recommend that all fish are returned to the water
as quickly as possible during the summer months. This
includes those targeting smaller species and anglers are asked to
consider whether they need to retain fish in keepnets. This is
entirely voluntary and if keepnets are used can members ensure they
are pegged out fully and not overfilled.
We have a team of bailiffs who regularly patrol our waters, their
main objective is to ensure that members enjoy the
facilities of the club and the rules are respected. Another part of
the role is to report back to the committee the health of our
fisheries and to do this they are charged with speaking to anglers
about catches made and obtain a general picture of how productive
our waters are. There is no compulsion on any club member to give
specific details of the swim occupied, the baits or tactics used but
the club would appreciate direct feedback from members either via
the bailiff team , directly through Facebook or to the club
publicity officer, so that members can keep updated with the quality
of the fish being caught across all our waters.
Specimen trophies including The Tookey Trophy, for best overall
capture are still up for grabs and several entries have been
received. The overall winner also receives free SDAA membership for
next season. Details of how to claim a specimen capture are in your
club book.
We have been given notice that tree work is scheduled at Broom Lake
during the period 24th July to 30th September as some of the cricket
bat willows will be felled. Whilst it is understood that there will
be some disruption to anglers it is not expected that the lake will
have to close. Please respect any notices posted at the fishery.
Also a reminder that only 2 rods can be used at Broom Lake by all
members until 1st October .

Week ending 9th July 2017

Sparkling sunshine, sparkling waters and
great fish to the Bank.
Best of the bunch this week being to Colin Pirie who had a
25lb 10oz common visit him when he had an overnighter on Broom lake.
The beauty raised him from sleep at 1.30 in the morning by rudely
setting both his alarms and reels screaming. She was safely in the
net after a short sharp tussle.
Our rivers are now picking up the pace with good tench still
predominating in the Barford Area with fish being landed in the 5 to
7 lb stamp.
Some quality roach are being reported from the Flit behind Shefford
where it was good to see 3 roach around the 10 to 14oz mark being
taken on caster over hemp underneath the swing bridge then later
upon meeting the same angler again a large roach of just under a Lb
on the same tactics where the river bends.
For up to date pictures take a look on our Facebook site,
which continues to be developed and is a great place to see the
quality of the fish regularly caught from across our waters.
As a reminder Books are still for sale and a membership runs all the
way until 15/06/18 a full membership being £70.00. Optional night
permits are available to fish overnight on the Airman, Broom and
Willington Lakes.

On a social matter, the club were delighted to host a fund
raising event. On Saturday 8th July the club gave the Royal British
Legion use of Broom Lake for a fund raising event that raised £262
for the RBL. Some 25 people took part in the event with half
the attendees being angling novices who received tuition organised
by Head Coach David Baker, assisted by other members of the
committee. The warm and sunny conditions meant the carp were
unwilling to feed and spent the day slowly cruising in the surface
layers. However, simple float tactics using 4m whips and
maggot as bait saw all the novices steadily catch roach, rudd and
perch throughout the day. The photo shows Andy Fievez (Chairman,
Stotfold and Arlesey RBL Branch) thanking Richard Bell (SDAA Ltd)
for hosting the event.The committee would like to take this
opportunity to thank Paul Brogden for organising the RBL event and
Paul Watts for providing a constant stream of burgers throughout the
day..

Week ending 2nd July 2017

Both Shefford & District AA stillwaters and
rivers have been producing some good fish in recent weeks.
Relatively few anglers fish the rivers during the summer months and
Peter Gill found he had Little Paxton to himself when he was
delighted to land a 13lb 5oz barbel. A little further
upstream a few members have now tried the new stretch of the Ouse
next to the power station at Little Barford with the most notable
fish reported so far being river tench to over 5lb, including a 6lb
tench landed by Paul Summers. The narrow sections of the River
Flit around Shefford continue to produce some good roach and dace
with the odd small barbel also showing up in catches. Members
should note that the EA have started their weed cutting campaign
along the Ivel and Broom River appears to have been one of the
first stretches to be cut.
The first match of the season saw a disappointing turn out of only
four anglers turn up at Willington Lake. Alan Andrews fished
pellet and method feeder to lead the field with 20lb 10oz of mainly
roach and skimmer bream and also a tench of 6lb 10oz, plus a carp
estimated at 10lb; however, carp over 2lb only count as 2lb in the
monthly match series. Nigel Gilbert was second with 6lb 10oz
of roach on waggler and sweetcorn, Malcolm Gibbs used similar
tactics for third with 3lb 10oz whilst Alan Harrison weighed in 1lb
14oz of roach, rudd and perch taken on maggot. The next match
is part of the 24h series being fished at Willington Lake on
15th/16th July. Night permits are not required to take part in
the 24h matches and further details can be obtained from Nigel
Gilbert (07931 215778 evenings & weekends only). Members
should note that Broom Lake will be closed to members from
08.00-18.00 on Saturday 8th July as the venue will be hosting a
charity event in support of the Royal British Legion.
Alan Lawrence had an excellent tench session on an undisclosed SDAA
water in recent weeks. Alan used flavoured bread paste float
fished in the margins over a sprinkling of ground bait to tempt a
total of nine tench to 7lb 7oz. Fortunately Alan’s tackle was
sufficiently robust to land a 28lb 5oz mirror carp that decided to
gate crashed the party.
Broom Lake is a popular venue thanks to being able to park behind
your peg at the moment. However, swim choice and time of day
are critical for those targeting the carp. Andy Richwood
recently landed carp of 23lb and 18lb within 30 minutes of setting
up but then the action stopped and remained biteless for the rest of
the day. Other anglers have been enjoying plenty of carp
action as the light fades and during the first few hours of darkness
with Andy Riley managing 6 carp during a recent overnight trip.
Bream and tench have been accounting for most activity on carp rods
during the day with the carp cruising in the upper layers during the
heat of the day.
Some of the smaller The Airman catfish have been feeding, but none
of the larger fish have been reported in recent weeks. Carp
fishing has been a little hit and miss recently and it is the bream
and tench that again have been the most reliable feeders.
Unfortunately a few dead fish have been found in recent weeks, which
is likely to be caused by the stress of spawning. However, it
is worth reminding members to handle all fish with great care and
return them to the water as quickly and safely as possible.
Carp anglers are still reluctant to talk about their endeavours at
Willington Lake, but those targeting tench and other smaller species
are enjoying success. Some areas of the lake are proving more
productive than others and those choosing the right areas are again
finding a bold approach to feeding and bait selection are reaping
the biggest rewards. Whilst maggots might produce bites all
day long in some swims it also tends to draw in the smaller fish,
whereas baits such as sweetcorn and pellet mean fewer bites but a
much better stamp of fish.

Week ending 18th June 2017

Well the anticipated start of the
season sparkled into life with all our river venues reporting good
captures of barbel,chub on method and pellet and bream on cage
feeder and chopped worm together with the occasional specimen perch.
The waters were running clean and clear and with the bright sun and
high temperatures not the ideal fishing conditions.
Even the Flit behind Shefford showed its value with a haul of 3
pristine roach coming in at between 10Oz and a pound on trotted red
maggot with a bonus 3lb chub reaching the net in a short 2 hour
session of river roving.
Just when you think everyone has turned their back on the
stillwaters, the catch of the week is special.
it's a 3lb 5oz crucian from Broom Lake caught by Sandie Cornell on a
boilie.
PS - lateral line count of 32, anal ray count of 6 and classic
crucian dorsal. An oldish looking fish which was impressive in the
flesh!

Week ending 11th June 2017

IPA Blunham
water The IPA do not currently have an agreement
in place for the fishing rights on this water (IPA water 13,
p37 of the SDAA membership book 2017-18). In light of this and with the river
fishing season due to start on Friday, June 16th, SDAA members MUST
NOT fish or access this water until further notice. We will
update these instructions as soon as the situation changes.

The Airman once again shows its nature as a premium fishery with
Edward Allen and his son netting a Moggie caught on a single
halibut pellet over a golf ball bag of mixed goodies in a PVA
Colin Pirie, in a two night session bagged himself carp to 26lb and
his first cat of 28lb.
There have been reports of cats up to 40lb during the week and a7
fish haul of bream in the 6 to 9lb range together with a tench all
on the slider method again.
The slider has been highly effective in the past few weeks, if you
fancy giving it a go and you are not sure how to set up an effective
rig why not speak to a member of our coaching team.
Meanwhile at Willington, hair rigged double corn provided good sport
for a new member targeting tench but ending up with 10 pristine
quality large roach.
The pike are certainly on the move with all venues reporting
interruptions due to their being attracted to the-feeding shoals.
The river season opens later this week and it will be very
interesting to see chub and barbel , monster perch and dace gracing
the banks once more. The club would appreciate reports and pictures
of the first captures from all our rivers but in particular Little
Barford.
Members and non members should be aware the club does not operate
any day tickets on any of its waters. Members must be in possession
of their club book and valid ea licence. Guests can accompany
members and tickets cost £10. If a guest subsequently becomes a
member of the club within the same season then the £10 is discounted
against the cost of membership.On another note great to see the
response from the members to the "great bait debate" thanks for your
input, vital for the good health of the club.

Week ending 4th June 2017

Once again the Airman Pit, our flagship
venue shows itself to be a prolific water for quality fish.

In a 12 hour Sunday session, one of our members(not wishing to be
named) had a fantastic days sport. Fishing from peg 3, just over the
ledge alternating float and maggot feeder, using only red maggot
caught 6 quality tench ranging from 2lb 7oz to just over 5 and a
half pound.
Members are gearing up for the river season and anticipating good
fishing on all our stretches of water as large shoals of dace,
roach, chub and bream have been seen patrolling.
Our barbel anglers are gearing up ready to move onto the Ivel on the
lookout for a double.
Whilst we are all able to enjoy our sport at a time and date of our
choosing, others seek to take away our way of life and our hearts go
out to all those touched and affected by both the Manchester and
London atrocities. The committee sincerely hope none of our members
were caught up in either event.

Week ending 28th May 2017

Not much fishing action to report on
this week more a message to keep vigilant:
No major captures to report this week although all waters were
fishing well for the major species, Carp, Tench and bream.
The club has been advised by our colleagues from one of the local
angling clubs, Ampthill of illegal activity concerning the removal
of 5 dead carp by 2 men who both had valid club books. A reminder
to all our members and anyone who has an interest in angling that
removal of fish is theft and any such activity should be reported to
a member of the committee immediately.
The rivers open soon and we are looking forward to reports of
catches from the clubs latest acquisition, a 350 yard stretch of the
River Ouse at Little Barford. Details can be found on the club
website
www.SheffordDAA.org.uk and new membership books which are on
sale now. Can our members note that the closed season does not end
until the 16th of June and you should not use the rivers until such
date. Unfortunately we have had reports of anglers (not club
members) fishing on the river Flit in Shefford during last week.
There has been EA activity on our waters recently so to use the
rivers before the opening day of the season could lead to fines and
bringing your club into disrepute.
Hopefully we will be back into the big fish reporting next week.

Week ending 21st May 2017

Without doubt there is one story
dominating the headlines of this week’s captures. I have been
mentioning the clubs traditional tench waters, Willington and Broom
Lakes only to be astonished by a capture of an 11lb 9oz monster from
the Airman Pit by Peter Swallow. Peter was not lying in wait behind
three rods for any of the many specimen carp known to inhabit the
Airman, instead he chose to use a traditional method on a sliding
float. Having rung the angling press Peter was delighted to be told
that this fish is one of the largest ever caught by this method. The
club are delighted for Peter.
Anyone capturing a specimen fish, whether gudgeon or carp, may have
chance to win one of the clubs awards and to be eligible is
asked to have their book signed by a witness who must be a club
member and if possible provide a picture including details of where
caught and weight upon capture. All entries to Steve baker,
publicity officer please.
Also the committee would like to mention the honest fisherman who
found an item of angling tackle and had it returned to its owner.
Many thanks.

Week ending 14th May 2017

There is still a month to go before the
16th June when anglers can return to fish the rivers. Shefford &
District AA Ltd are pleased to confirm that they have now secured
the fishing rights for a 400m stretch of the Ouse next to the power
station at Little Barford. Details of the venue can be found
in the new club books for the 2017/18 season. This stretch is
noted for many species including good numbers of carp and tench on
top of the more usual river species of bream, chub, pike, perch,
roach and dace. Access is via a footpath running from the end
of Alington Road and the stretch overlooks the golf course on the
opposite bank. Like all SDAA waters this will be for members
only and day tickets will not be available. Members should
also note that they should not try to access the stretch at Little
Paxton during the close season as keys do not currently open the
club lock at the entrance to the allotments. The Head Bailiff
is looking to expand the bailiff team next season and anyone
interested in becoming a bailiff can contact Kevin Williams on 07921
517683. Kevin is particularly looking to strengthen our
bailiff team in the St Neots area to help patrol these two waters.
The Airman catfish, carp, bream and tench have been feeding in
numbers although precise details of catches have been hard to track
down. Dennis Thompson managed a 14lb 4oz mirror and then
landed a 6lb 2oz bream on his carp gear. However, the bream
was trailing a rig comprising of 3 feet of leadcore that still had a
2oz lead attached. All members should note that leadcore has
been banned on all SDAA waters following a vote by members at an
AGM. The 2oz lead was still attached as the ‘tail rubber’ had been
jammed on so tightly it would not budge. Unfortunately this
was not a one off incident and James Turvey recovered another rig
from a catfish which comprised of 6 feet of leadcore and again the
2.5oz lead was still attached. The relevant rule states: “All
terminal rigs must be constructed so as to prevent leads and
excessive lengths of line remaining attached to fish in the event of
a line breakage. The use of leadcore is not permitted”.
Fortunately these fish survived towing around a potential ‘death
rig’, other fish have not been so fortunate in the past.
Carp continue to feature in catches at Broom Lake along with good
numbers of bream, with tench also finally putting in an appearance.
Several anglers have enjoyed multiple bags of carp and increasingly
more now top the 20lb mark, with Mervyn Saville managed to with a
hard fighting 20lb 3oz common and Jake Kitching landing a 20lb
common during an overnight session.

Week ending 23rd April 2017

Club members faced difficult
conditions last week demanding a level of skill and tenacity.
Several concurrent cold nights with temperatures hovering just above
freezing being followed by bright sunny days do not make for easy
fishing. For those who ventured out onto any of the 40 acres of
stillwater under the clubs control the efforts were worthwhile with
good catches being reported across all waters.
Silver fish predominated, roach, rudd and even a bleak turning up at
Willington!
A weekend session at Broom lake for Dave Baker provided the
highlight of catches reported with 6 bream over 4lb and the largest
a hefty lump of 7lb. Dave went on to bank 6 carp including
commons of 11-4, 15-7, 17-6 & 19-7 and a pristine mirror of 22-8.
With little rain falling in the past month Stanford Pit water levels
have dropped around an inch this last week and it is recommended
that, to reduce stress on the fish they are not held in keep nets
for the present. There is still plenty of activity from the local
carp and they are concentrating on the northern (Green Man PH) side
of the pit in the relatively shallow water there. Shoals of small
rudd have been seen breaking the surface of the water.
Members are being asked to keep their eyes open eyes open for
Floating Pennywort as things warm up. It was spotted by
members on our stretches at Willington and Little Paxton last year
before dying back for the winter. No doubt it will reappear
this summer. The EA will try and deal with any lying in the
main channel, but it is likely the club will have to deal with any
infestation in a lake. As such it is important that any sightings
should be reported to any member of the committee. Photos and
precise locations are invaluable. Useful information has been
posted on the website so members can identify this very invasive
weed.
Finally, new membership books will be distributed to tackle shops
next week and now is a good time to introduce fellow anglers to our
waters. Remember day tickets are available to anglers accompanying
club members and the price of the ticket is discounted from the
subsequent purchase of a book.

Week ending 16th April 2017

SDAA membership cards for the 2017/18
season will be available from early May and will be valid from date
of purchase through to 15th June 2018. All prices will be the
same as last season. Full details about membership, night
permits and application forms will appear on the membership section
of the SDAA website towards the end of April
Membership of the SDAA provides you with quality fishing with
exclusive access to several excellent lakes and premier stretches of
the rivers Great Ouse, Ivel and its tributaries in and around
Bedfordshire. SDAA membership also gains access to all Ivel
Protection Association (IPA) waters.
Whether you are a specimen hunter or pleasure angler, SDAA waters
can cater for virtually all your angling needs with all major
species available.
The club has an active match programme with around 30 events already
scheduled covering all aspects of fishing including specialist pike
matches.
Around the Fisheries Broom Lake
The carp certainly came awake in style on Broom lake last week.
Anglers enjoying the sunny weather took advantage with Mick Burr,
12lb carp; Daniel Howett, carp of 20lbs and 15lbs as well as 3 bream
up to 6lbs; Mark Brigginshaw, carp of 13lbs; Andy Richwood, carp of
18lbs 3ozs.
Jack Lancaster who was on a day session carping had a brace of
commons of 17lb 8oz and a stunning looking 23lb 12oz fish. The Airman
Anglers are reporting good bags of silver fish including roach ,
skimmers and rudd and perch. The pike are very active at the moment
and anglers targeting these fish are seeing good sport. Stanford Pit
Recently re opened and producing numbers of tench with the
occasional bonus carp. This is an ideal fishery for beginners to
practice their skills before heading to the larger waters. Willington Lake
Whilst there are no reports this week, The lake is well known for
producing carp to over 40Lbs. It boasts a large population of tench,
making multiple bags possible throughout the summer. Bream into
double figures feature regularly and there are significant numbers
of silver fish so a good mixed bag is only a rod length away.

The club would be delighted to hear about your success and you can
report your catches and upload pictures to our facebook page.

Week ending 9th April 2017

The recent mild spell has seen water
temperatures rise across Shefford & District AA Ltd stillwaters and
members can expect to see many species spawning earlier than usual
this year. This was illustrated by the carp spawning at
Stanford Pit following the warm weekend weather. Water levels
have risen slightly at Stanford Pit during the spring and the
committee have decided to reopen the venue for fishing, but all fish
must be returned immediately to the water to avoid unnecessary
stress and the use of keepnets at this venue is banned. The
committee will continue to monitor the venue and may well have to
reintroduce a fishing ban if water levels start to drop later in the
year.
The Airman catfish have been quite active and the biggest specimen
caught last week was a 47lb 5oz catfish caught by Dave Hedges.
The carp have often been seen basking in small gaps in the emerging
reed beds as the water temperatures rise, but we urge anglers not to
try and catch carp from the reeds as it is almost impossible to land
fish from these areas without causing damage to the fish or leaving
them tethered. Members are also reminded that fishing is from
the marked swims only at both The Airman and Broom Lake.
The track at Broom Lake has been repaired and is now open to cars
and small vans. Large vans, heavy vehicles and any vehicle
over 2m tall must be left in the car park and not driven around the
lake. Please take care driving round and ensure you stay on
the Type 1 and not drive on the grass, which is the main reason for
causing the damage that leads to the track’s closure.

Two members were recently banned from the club for night fishing
without a night permit. Members are reminded to carry their
documents at all times whilst on club waters and they can expect to
be bailiffed at any time of the day or night. The Head Bailiff
is looking to expand the bailiff team next season and anyone
interested in becoming a bailiff can contact Kevin Williams on 07921
517683. Kevin is particularly looking to strengthen our
bailiff team in the St Neots area.

Week ending 2nd April 2017

The Shefford & District AA Ltd AGM was
held last week and members were kept informed of key developments
within the club as well as voting to adopt two special resolutions
proposed by the committee. The club has invested in major
improvements at The Airman and the finances remain in good shape,
meaning there will be no increase in subscriptions for the 2017/18
season. Membership books for next season will be available
from local tackle dealers in early May and will be valid through to
15th June 2018. Please check the club’s website towards the
end of April for full details about membership for next season.
Following the formal AGM, trophies were presented by life member
Pete Allen to the winners of the specimen and match competitions.
John Dickman secured the Tookey Trophy for the best overall specimen
for his 60lb 13oz catfish. Malcolm Gibbs was the winner of the
monthly match series trophy and James Turvey winner of the pike
series shield. David Hawkes was awarded the Centenary Cup for
his wide ranging and major contributions to the management of the
Club since joining the Committee in 2008. David's influence
has extended well beyond his roles as Club Secretary and Membership
Secretary.
The Airman has been a popular venue for members in recent weeks, but
members are reminded to ensure the gate is left closed and locked
after entering or exiting the venue. A number of catfish have
been caught during the last week including a 35lb 2oz specimen
reported by Martin Sharpe, which is a sure sign that water
temperatures have been rising. Bream and tench have also
started to show in catches.
Members have also been enjoying more success at Broom Lake.
Mick Baldwin enjoyed a great catch of ten bream to 7lb during a day
session. On the same day Barry Cook landed carp of 23lb and
19lb, plus two bream of 7lb and 6lb whilst Andy Richwood managed a
15lb carp. Students from Shuttleworth college have repaired several
swims and will hopefully return in May/June to carry out further
maintenance work.

Week ending 26th March 2017

Shefford & District AA river venues
are now subject to the close season and cannot be fished until 16th
June. A few days before the close season came into force James
Turvey visited the Ouse at Pavenham and adopted a roving style
fishing several swims during the day. James was rewarded with
two magnificent chub of 6lb and 7lb caught within an hour of each
other.
With water temperatures rising the catfish at The Airman have
started to become more active and at least one 40lber was caught
during the last week. Carp are also featuring in catches with
Peter Thurgood landing a 25lb 12oz mirror.
Carp have also started to feed at Broom Lake with several doubles
caught during the week, with several large bream also picking up
baits intended for the carp. Winter tree work at the venue is
now complete, but students from Shuttleworth college will be
visiting the lake on some Fridays to carry out swim repairs and
other maintenance work, and members must take heed of any notices
regarding swim closures and access restrictions during their visits.
The track around the lake will remain closed until the damaged areas
have dried out sufficiently so that they can be repaired.

Plenty of anglers have been visiting Willington Lake but catches
usually go unreported, other than the odd VS Fisheries stockie carp
from last year have been landed. Members visiting Willington
Lake should note that Barford Road is still closed through to 7th
April. Access to the fishery is still available from the Great
Barford end of the road. Although there are signs
indicating the road is closed at the Great Barford bridge traffic
lights, the actual road closure is well after the entrance to the
lake further towards Willington village.

Week ending 19th March 2017

Michael Webb was one of several
Shefford & District AA members who headed for the river venues on
the 14th March, which was the last day of the river season with
rivers now closed to fishing until 16th June. Michael chose
the narrow river Flit (also known as the Ivel Navigation) and landed
chub of 3lb 12oz and 4lb 3oz, as well as a brown trout around the
5lb mark. Further upstream in Shefford, anglers have been
enjoying some good catches of roach and dace during the last few
weeks of the season, with some of the roach well over the pound
mark. Anyone found fishing the river venues during the close
season will face prosecution by the Environment Agency, as well as
disciplinary action from the club. Anglers aged 12 and over
will also need to renew their Environment Agency rod licences that
expire at the end of March. The junior rod licence will be
free from 1st April, but junior anglers are still required to obtain
one. A new 3 rod licence is also available from 1st April,
which will be 50% dearer than the standard 2 rod licence.
A work party is being held at Broom Lake on Saturday 25th March and
volunteers are welcome to attend, during the work party the track
and swims 1-19 will be closed. Students from Shuttleworth college
will be visiting the lake on Fridays for the next few weeks to carry
out swim repairs and other maintenance work, and members must take
heed of any notices regarding swim closures and access restrictions
during their visits.

The Shefford & District AA AGM is being held at 8pm on Wednesday
29th March 2017 at Shefford Town Memorial Association Hall, 10
Hitchin Road, Shefford SG17 5JA. The bar will be open from
7.30pm. Further details of the AGM are available on the home
page of the club’s website. Entry and voting will be by card
only so please remember to bring your membership book.

Week ending 12th March 2017

With the close season on rivers in
force from 15th March through to 15th June, Shefford & District AA
members are now restricted to the club’s stillwater venues.
Milder conditions have seen a distinct increase in fish activity
with both pike and perch likely to go through spawning in the next
few weeks. Members have also reported bream already sporting
their spawning tubercles, which is a sure sign that water
temperatures have risen and that other species may well spawn
earlier than usual this season. Willington Lake continues to
fish well for silver fish and pike, with young 6 year old Aiden
Graham setting another PB with a pike of 13lb 4oz. Carp, tench
and bream can now be expected to feature in catches. Please
note that due to planned road closures until the end of March,
access to Willington Lake is limited to the Great Barford end of
Barford Road.
The Airman continues to fish well for roach with plenty of skimmer
bream also showing up in catches. Colin Smith managed a short
session using swimfeeder tactics and landed four roach and
three skimmers all over a pound, with his best roach weighing 1lb
5oz. With roach to just under 2lb and plenty of fish over the
pound mark some anglers have been putting together roach catches to
well over 20lb.
Tree work on the islands at Broom Lake has been completed.
The track around the lake has now been closed to prevent further
damage and will reopen when the ground has dried out and damaged
areas have been repaired. A work party is being held on
Saturday 25th March and volunteers are welcome to attend, during the
work party the track and swims 1-19 will be closed. Students from
Shuttleworth college will be visiting the lake on Fridays for the
next few weeks to carry out swim repairs and other maintenance work,
and members must take heed of any notices regarding swim closures
and access restrictions during their visits.

Week ending 5th March 2017

The final round of the Shefford &
District AA pike series produced another good result at Willington
Lake with several members enjoying multiple pike captures. The
wet and windy conditions appeared to put some members off as only
four entered the match, but despite the conditions the pike were on
the feed. Pike match organiser Bryan Lancaster won the match
with five pike to 10lb 13oz for a total weight of 34lb 8oz.
Kevin Wilkins landed 8 pike to 4lb 7oz totalling 19lb for second
place, with Tony Archer’s 4 pike to 8lb 12oz totalling 17lb 1oz in
third. James Turvey had a single pike of 12lb 12oz, which was
the biggest caught on the day. The pike series has been a
resounding success this year with some excellent catches.
James Turvey was the overall series winner with 11 points with Kevin
Wilkins second on 6 points. James also landed the biggest pike
of the series with a fish of 13lb 12oz, which was part of his
amazing 24 pike haul during the February match.
Continuing on the pike theme, Richard Crockford landed a fine
specimen pike at The Airman just as the light was fading, which
tipped the scales round to 25lb 4oz. Young Dexter Allen was
reeling in a small roach when a decent pike grabbed hold and despite
only fishing with a size 20 hook Dexter was able to safely land the
pike. Carp have also been more active with Andy Furr catching
mirrors of 20lb 10oz and 19lb 2oz during his latest session.
Neil Bygrave and Nigel Gilbert had set off on Sunday morning with
the intention of fishing the river Ouse at Pavenham but found the
river high and coloured and after a biteless hour decided a move was
required. The river at Willington was also unfishable, so they
finally ended up at The Airman after lunch.
Adopting simple maggot feeder approach Neil had his first bite after
an hour that resulted in a 1lb 14oz roach. Three more roach
followed in successive casts, the first two over the 1lb mark with
the third was again similar to his first at just under 2lb. Then all
went quiet for a couple of hours before they started to feed again
as dusk approached and Neil landed a further two 1lb+ roach, along
with a skimmer bream and a couple of smaller roach. Nigel also
managed a couple of 1lb+ roach later in the session along with some
smaller roach.
There will be a number of closures at Broom Lake in the next few
weeks whilst tree surgeons are working. The whole lake will be
closed on Friday 10th March & Saturday 11th March. A work
party is also being held on Saturday 25th March and volunteers are
welcome to attend, during the work party the track and swims 1-19
will be closed. Members will still be able to access the river
on these dates but must be mindful of any tree works. The track
around the lake has now been closed to prevent further damage and
will reopen when the ground has dried out and damaged areas have
been repaired.
A reminder that the river close season starts after 14th March and
the closing date for specimen fish claims is 16th March so that
trophies can be engraved ahead of the AGM on 29th March.

Week ending 26th Feb 2017

The changeable weather offered some
extra challenges for Shefford & District AA members during the last
week, especially for those who chose to try and fish during the gale
force winds. The final round of the match series was fished under
blustery conditions at Willington Lake with a disappointing turnout
of only three anglers. Despite the wind causing problems with
presentation, John Salmon put together a very respectable 10lb 10oz
of roach, bleak and rudd on the pole to secure first place. Malcolm
Gibbs opted to fish the waggler and weighed in 4lb 14oz for second
place. Nigel Gilbert went all out for the bream on the feeder but
only managed a few roach. Malcolm Gibbs had already secured overall
victory in the match series that has been fished across the club's
stillwaters. The final round in the pike series will take place on
Sunday 5th March at Willington Lake (contact Bryan Lancaster
on 07810 454819 for further details).
David Hawkes returned to Broom River and managed to land another
good perch of 3lb 4oz perch on lobworm and also lost good pike that
snapped up his lobworm bait. David fished double red maggot and a
small feeder on his second rod and managed to catch 15 good sized
roach, several being 'netters'.
There will be a number of closures at Broom Lake in the next few
weeks whilst tree surgeons are working. The whole lake will be
closed on Friday 3rd March & Saturday 4th March and again on Friday
10th March & Saturday 11th March. A work party is also being held
on Saturday 25th March and volunteers are welcome to attend, during
the work party the track and swims 1-19 will be closed. Members
will still be able to access the river on these dates but must park
in the car park and be mindful of any tree works. Apologies for the
relatively short notice for these closures, but the dates were
dependent upon the tree surgeons availability and no more tree works
are planned until next winter.
The Shefford & District AA AGM is being held on Wednesday 29th March
2017 and members should keep an eye on the club's website for
further details of the AGM that will appear in the next two weeks.

Week ending 19th Feb 2017

The latest round of
theShefford & District AA pike series saw James Turvey enjoy
a truly magnificent catch at Willington Lake. James was one of
ten anglers taking part in the pike match and managed to land an
amazing 24 (yes twenty four!) pike ranging from 1lb 7oz to 13lb 2oz
for an incredible total weight of 100lb 8oz. James’s catch of
24 pike in a single session is one that few anglers will ever
achieve and with one match still remaining this latest win has given
him unassailable lead in the pike series. Second place was
taken by Kevin Wilkins with 3 fish up to 10lb 9oz for a total weight
of 18lb 12oz and third place taken by Dennis Thompson with 3 fish
for a total weight of 10lb 13oz. Nine anglers weighed in a
total of 38 pike for a total weight of 157lb 12oz. The final
round in the pike series will take place on Sunday 5th
March at Willington Lake (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details). The final monthly match will be
held at Willington Lake on Sunday 26th February (contact
Nigel Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings & weekends only for further
details). The river close season starts after 14th March
and once again several members have been out on the rivers.
David Hawkes went in pursuit of the big perch from Broom River and
was delighted to land a 3lb 5oz perch on double red maggot and then
lost a large pike that also took a liking to red maggots.
Further upstream John Hollands landed a 4lb 5oz chub from the
Langford area.

The Shefford & District AA AGM is being held on Wednesday 29th
March 2017. If you want to take a more active role in running the
club there are vacancies for both committee and officer positions,
and nominations for these positions must be received by 28th
February. Members must also advise the Club Secretary in writing of
any business to be moved at the AGM before 28th February.

Week ending 12th Feb 2017

Shefford & District AA are pleased to
report that work to upgrade the entrance and car park at The Airman
is now complete and the venue is again open to members.
Vehicles must not exceed 5mph whilst on site, must not be parked
anywhere on the tarmac entrance and must not be driven over the
kerbs (including the dropped kerbs behind pegs 1-4).
Despite flurries of snow at the weekend, anglers were catching
plenty of roach and a few small pike.
With the river venues facing the close season after 14th March,
several members are concentrating on our flowing waters. Mick
Burr has a knack of catching big perch from the Ivel but his latest
visit produced a pike of over 15lb that took a liking to a lobworm
intended for the perch. Fortunately the pike was hooked in the
lip in front of its sharp teeth and it tested Mick’s tackle to the
full before being safely landed. Michael Webb did manage a
decent perch from the Ivel and followed this up with a trout just
under 3lb on his next visit to one the tributaries.
The track around Broom Lake is starting to cut up due to vehicles
being driven at speed and/or veering off the solid MOT Type 1
surface. The state of the track is being closely monitored and
will be closed without notice if the damage gets any worse.
Anglers targeting the silver fish have been enjoying some good
catches, but with the fish tightly shoaled it pays to look for signs
of fish activity before choosing where to fish.
Members visiting Willington Lake should note that Barford Road is
closed for several weeks through to early April. Access to the
fishery will still be available during any road closures from the
Great Barford end of the road. Although there are likely to
be signs indicating the road is closed at the Great Barford bridge
traffic lights, the actual road closure is well after the entrance
to the lake further towards Willington village. Anglers
fishing the river behind the lake have been enjoying some good nets
of silver fish with roach making up the bulk of catches. The
penultimate round in the pike series takes place on Saturday 18th
February at Willington Lake (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details). The final monthly match will be
held at Willington Lake on Sunday 26th February (contact Nigel
Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings & weekends only for further details).

The Shefford & District AA AGM is being held on Wednesday 29th March
2017. There are vacancies for both committee and officer
positions and nominations for these positions must be received by
28th February. Members must also advise the Club Secretary in
writing of any business to be moved at the AGM before 28th February.
The committee has banned the use of drones on all club waters.

Week ending 29th Jan 2017

Even though ice was covering the lakes
for most of the week some hardy Shefford & District AA members
managed to track down a few fish, despite having to break through
the ice. John Wigg fished Broom Lake during the week and
having first cleared a gap in the ice John went on to catch roach up
to 8oz fishing the pole. The track around the lake is
still useable but members are asked to only drive around at walking
pace and carefully stick to the line of the track in order to avoid
further damage to the adjacent soft ground.
The latest monthly match was fished at The Airman with the five
contestants having to break the ice to fish. Malcolm Gibbs was the
runaway winner with 5lb 7oz of roach on the long whip from peg 2,
whilst John Wigg managed 12oz on the pole from peg 3 for second
place, with both anglers plagued by the attention of pike. No
one else weighed, but John Salmon did hook a decent fish on his only
bite of the day, but John’s tackle was totally under gunned for the
suspected tench, which he failed to land. With the best eight
results from the series counting, Malcolm Gibbs on 29 points cannot
be overhauled, with John Wigg, John Salmon and Nigel Gilbert all
tied for second with 23 points. The final monthly match will
be held at Willington Lake on Sunday 26th January (contact
Nigel Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings & weekends only for further
details). The penultimate round in the pike series takes place
on Saturday 18th February at Willington Lake (contact Bryan
Lancaster on 07810 454819 for further details).
Work is now underway to upgrading the entrance and car park at The
Airman. The Airman will remain closed until the work has
been completed and this is likely to take until Monday 13th February
at the earliest. Bad weather may cause some delays in the work
schedule, so we will provide updates on progress as they become
available.
Members visiting Willington Lake should note that Barford Road is
due to close for several weeks from the end of January through to
the end of March. We have been assured that access to the
fishery will still be available during any road closures from the
Great Barford end of the road. Although there are likely to
be signs indicating the road is closed at the Great Barford bridge
traffic lights, the actual road closure is well after the entrance
to the lake further towards Willington village.
Finally, an early reminder that the Shefford & District AA AGM will
be held on Wednesday 29th March 2017. There are vacancies for
both committee and officer positions for any member wanting to take
an active role in managing the club, with committee meetings taking
place on the second Tuesday evening of each month. Nomination
for these positions must be received by 28th February and seconded
by another member. Members must also advise the Club Secretary
in writing of any business to be moved at the AGM before 28th
February.

Week ending 22nd Jan 2017

The winter weather certainly took hold
across Shefford & District AA waters during the last week.
Members arriving at the lakes found them frozen over after several
hard overnight frosts, which also led to the cancellation of the
latest pike match. The Ouse was also running high and coloured
for much of the week as rain water from the previous weekend slowly
passed through the system. The Ivel system remained fishable
through most of the week as levels quickly started to drop back to
normal, but relatively few members were tempted to wet a line
although some were rewarded with the odd chub that were still
willing to feed despite the cold conditions.
Provided the lakes thaw, the next monthly match is scheduled for The
Airman on Sunday 29th January (contact Nigel Gilbert 07931
215778 evenings & weekends only for further details). The
penultimate round in the pike series takes place on Saturday 18th
February at Willington Lake (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details).
Shefford & District AA is about to start work on upgrading the
entrance and car park at The Airman. These works will require the
complete closure of The Airman to all members from 17.15 on Sunday
29th January and it is hoped that work will be completed by Monday
13th February. Obviously any bad weather may cause some delays in
the work schedule, so we will provide updates on progress as they
become available. There will be no access at all for members during
the works. Broom Lake, Willington Lake and all our river venues
will remain open during this time.
Another reminder that members visiting Willington Lake should note
that Barford Road will be closed for several weeks from January
through to the end of March to replace a bridge towards the
Willington end of the road. We have been assured that access
to the fishery will still be available during any road closures from
the Great Barford end of the road. Although there are likely
to be signs indicating the road is closed at the Great Barford
bridge traffic lights the actual closure is well after the entrance
to the lake.

Week ending 15th Jan 2017

With the first real taste of winter only
a few hardy Shefford & District AA members have been visiting the
waters during the last week. Although no large carp have been
reported, a few double figure carp have been caught by determined
anglers. Pike and roach are currently the most reliable
feeders on the lakes, but with the water now gin clear the fish are
tightly shoaled and are often only inclined to feed in short bursts.
Richard Knight elected to fish a session after carp at The Airman
where the lake appeared lifeless and ice had started to form in the
margins before his alarm finally sounded. After a brief tussle
with the line cutting through the thin ice, Richard landed a 12lb
4oz mirror carp. At Broom Lake odd carp are still being caught
with late afternoon often being the best time to coincide with the
carp’s feeding spells. Colin Smith witnessed a beautifully
scaled mirror carp being caught in mid afternoon on a bottom bait.
Chris Donovan also had recent success catching a common carp on a
zig-rig in late afternoon, after several hours of fishing bottom
baits with no success.
The club would like to thank the 18 students from Shuttleworth
College who carried out an afternoon of work experience at The
Airman during the week cutting back vegetation and applying wood
chip to the swims. A work party is being held at The Airman
from 9am on Saturday 21st January. The work will involve finishing
tidying up the car park and applying wood chip to swims. All
volunteers are welcome to attend. The lake will be closed to
fishing whilst the work party is in progress and anyone already
fishing will be expected to reel in their rods to help with the work
party. Members should keep an eye out for notices regarding
closures of The Airman for further work parties and maintenance
work.
The next round in the pike series takes place on Sunday 22nd January
at The Airman (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819 for
further details), and the next monthly match will also be fished at
The Airman on Sunday 29th January (contact Nigel Gilbert 07931
215778 evenings & weekends only for further details).
Members visiting Willington Lake or the adjacent stretch of river
should note that Barford Road will be closed for several weeks from
January through to the end of March to replace a bridge towards the
Willington end of the road. We have been assured that access
to the fishery will still be available during any road closures from
the Great Barford end of the road. Although there are likely
to be signs indicating the road is closed at the Great Barford
bridge traffic lights the actual closure is well after the entrance
to the lake.

Week ending 8th Jan 2017

With the lakes now gin clear Shefford &
District AA members are finding the larger species are often lying
dormant and reluctant to feed, with the exception of the pike.
However, the rivers are still producing some good catches as the
fish still have to burn up energy by swimming. Alan Lawrence
has recently enjoyed some excellent chub catches from two separate
SDAA waters. A trip to the Ivel resulted in three chub of 4lb
9oz, 5lb 11oz and 6lb 13oz, with the largest fish taken just on
dusk. Alan followed this up with an even more productive
session on the Ouse with four chub of 5lb 5oz, 5lb 9oz, 6lb 1oz and
a pristine looking specimen of 7lb 3oz. All the fish were taken
using a light link ledger, and homemade paste as bait.
Elsewhere most river sections have been producing catches of roach
and dace on float tactics although it is best to adopt a mobile
approach to locate the fish that are often tightly shoaled at this
time of year.
The next round in the pike series takes place on Sunday 22nd January
at The Airman (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819 for
further details), and the next monthly match will also be fished at
The Airman on Sunday 29th January (contact Nigel Gilbert 07931
215778 evenings & weekends only for further details). Members
should keep an eye out for notices regarding closures of The Airman
for work parties and maintenance work. Members planning a trip
to Willington should note that Barford Road will be closed for
several weeks from January through to the end of March apparently to
replace a bridge. We anticipate that access to the fishery
should still be available during any road closures via the Great
Barford end of the road.

Week ending 1st Jan 2017

With a period of cold weather putting
many species off the feed, Shefford & District AA members have found
pike and chub the most reliable feeders. Mick Burr visited the
River Ivel after a heavy overnight frost along with a few other
hardy members. Whilst the others gave up after a few hours
without a bite, Mick decided to stick it out until darkness fell as
this is often the most productive time of the day. Mick’s
persistence was rewarded with a single bite that resulted in a
beautifully conditioned chub of 6lb 12oz, which was also a new PB.
Peter Biernis also tackled the River Ivel on a couple of occasions
and managed chub to just under 5lb.
Young Associate Junior member Aidan Graham returned to Willington
Lake hoping to catch more pike and was rewarded with a new PB of
10lb 12oz. Peter Biernis visited the same venue in pursuit of
pike and managed to land three pike and lose another two during a
hectic morning session.
The next round in the pike series takes place on Sunday 22nd January
at The Airman (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819 for
further details), and the next monthly match will also be fished at
The Airman on Sunday 29th January (contact Nigel Gilbert 07931
215778 evenings & weekends only for further details). Members
should keep an eye out for notices regarding closures of The Airman
for maintenance work. There will be at least two work parties
during January to cut back vegetation and finish applying wood chip
to the swims.

Week ending 18th Dec 2016

Silver fish and predators have been
giving the most consistent sport for Shefford & District AA members
on both stillwater and river venues. Local rivers have been
receiving more attention in recent weeks with Michael Webb making a
return visit to the Ivel Navigation where he recently caught a
decent brown trout and proved this was no fluke by landing another
two brown trout of 4lb and 6lb. Peter Biernis visited the
Broom River section of the Ivel and fished a small maggot feeder
with two red maggots on a size 16 hook to land 15-20 roach up to the
pound mark, with most in the 6-10oz bracket. Michael Webb also
found this section to be very productive landing 30-40 roach and
dace on his first visit, and returning later in the week with Barry
Goode they enjoyed another productive session with ‘umpteen’ roach
and dace, and a pair of 3lb perch.
The latest monthly match was held at Broom Lake with all anglers
catching small roach and even smaller perch. None of the
bigger roach put in an appearance, but the top two anglers had their
weights boosted by a few skimmer bream up to 6oz. Nigel
Gilbert weighed in 4lb 14oz taken on the pole for first place with
Alex Davies securing second spot with 4lb 6oz caught on the whip.
Malcolm Gibbs weighed 2lb 15oz for third, John Wigg 2lb 4oz for
fourth and John Salmon 1lb 10oz for fifth. With three matches
left, the competition to be overall series champion is extremely
tight with Malcolm Gibbs and Nigel Gilbert currently tied on 24
points, John Wigg on 23 points and John Salmon on 20 points.
The next monthly match will be fished at The Airman on Sunday 29th
January (contact Nigel Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings &
weekends only for further details).
Young Associate Junior member Aidan Graham managed to land a nice
pike who during a trip to Willington Lake. Associate Junior
membership of SDAA is FREE for any child under the age of 17, but
they must be supervised by a member aged 18 or over in the same swim
whilst fishing. From April 2017 junior EA rod licences will also be
FREE, so members should make full use of Associate Junior membership
to help encourage youngsters to take up angling. Nationally
junior EA rod licence sales have halved in the last seven years.
The next round in the pike series takes place on Sunday 22nd January
at The Airman (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819 for
further details). There will be at least two work parties at
The Airman during January to cut back vegetation and finish applying
wood chip to the swims, and the dates will be advertised in the near
future.

Weekending 11th Dec 2016

As we have now moved into winter, the
Shefford & District AA members who are enjoying most success are
those choosing to target the fish that are reliable feeders during
the colder months. The latest round of the pike series fished
at Willington Lake attracted eight anglers and each angler caught at
least two pike, with a total of 27 pike landed for a total weight of
129lb 4oz. First place was taken by James Turvey with 4 pike
to 8lb 5oz for a total weight of 23lb 3oz, just a few ounces ahead
of Bryan Lancaster with 4 pike to 8lb 12oz for 22lb 8oz. Third
place was taken by Kevin Wilkins with 4 pike to 8lb 8oz for 21lb
14oz. Tony Archer caught 3 pike for 19lb 6oz, Jack
Lancaster 4 pike for 11lb 7oz, Dave Baker 3 pike for 10lb 14oz,
Alfie Archer 2 pike for 10lb 5oz and Dennis Thompson 3 pike for 9lb
11oz. After 4 matches James Turvey leads the series with 2
wins and a second place for a total of 8 points. The next
round in the pike series takes place on Sunday 22nd January at
Willington Lake (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819 for
further details). The last monthly match of 2016 will be held
on Sunday 18th December at Broom Lake (contact Nigel Gilbert
07931 215778 evenings & weekends only for further details).
SDAA waters on the Flit/Ivel Navigation received an early Christmas
present in the shape of 1,500 barbel from the Environment Agency’s
Calverton fish farm. Clifton Road Bridge, the Horsebridge and North
Bridge in Shefford all received 500 barbel that are two summers old.
The hope is these fish will spread out along the river and create a
breeding population in the longer term. Previously the EA has
concentrated stocking barbel at the Horsebridge. We urge members to
report any barbel caught between Jordans Mill and Shefford so that
we can help the EA monitor how far the barbel population has spread.
Tony Hickmott recently targeted the Ivel Navigation below Stanford
Lock and although no barbel showed up in his net, he found it was
fishing well for roach and small chub.
‘Half year’ Shefford & District AA books are available from our
usual outlets and remain valid through to 15th June 2017 (prices:
Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors £10). Please
note that night fishing at The Airman, Broom Lake and Willington
Lake requires optional Night Permits (there is no part year discount
on these Night Permits).

EA BARBEL STOCKING

SDAA waters on the Flit/Ivel Navigation received an early Christmas
present in the shape of 1,500 barbel from the Environment Agency’s
Calverton fish farm. Clifton Road Bridge, the Horsebridge and
North Bridge in Shefford all received 500 barbel that are two
summers old. The hope is these fish will spread out along the
river and create a breeding population in the longer term.
Previously the EA has concentrated stocking barbel at the
Horsebridge. We urge members to report any barbel caught
between Jordans Mill and Shefford so that we can help the EA monitor
how far the barbel population has spread.
During their visit the EA team also stocked 500 barbel at
Biggleswade, 2,000 chub in Langford and 500 barbel at Henlow along
the Ivel.

Week ending 4th Dec 2016

The cold and frosty conditions saw sport
on Shefford & District AA stillwaters slow down with river venues
offering the best option to find feeding fish. Whilst the carp
fishing on Willington Lake appeared to have ground to a halt, it was
a very different situation for those who venture onto the short
section of the Ouse behind the lake. Brian Barrett decided to
fish a maggot feeder and started to get plenty of bites from the
off, but became increasingly frustrated as he just could not connect
with any fish despite the maggots on his hook being crushed.
As the bites were usually ‘on the drop’, Brian added a piece of rig
foam on the hooklength to keep the bait suspended off the bottom and
this resulted in a bite virtually every cast and eventually roach
between 4 and 8oz graced his net. Dave Baker visited the
stretch a few days later for a short pike session, casting out a
deadbait on one rod and setting up a small maggot feeder to catch a
live bait. Dave’s problem was he could not catch a fish small
enough to use as live bait as it was a ‘bite a chuck’ on the feeder
landing a succession of good sized roach, dace and small chub.
His deadbait did result in one pike of 8lb, which was attacked by an
even bigger pike on its way to the landing net. All the club’s
stretches of the Ouse have been fishing well this year for silver
fish and are well worth a visit.
The next round in the pike series takes place on Sunday 11th
December at Willington Lake (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details) an the next monthly match will be held
on Sunday 18th December at Broom Lake (contact Nigel Gilbert
07931 215778 evenings & weekends only for further details).
Last week was a busy week for work parties and it was pleasing to
see a number of new volunteers in attendance. 3 tonnes of
Siltex was applied to The Airman with the aid of a boat, whilst wood
chippings were spread across several swims. A tree surgeon
dealt with a number of dangerous trees around Broom Lake over two
days, whilst volunteers dealt with the fallen timbers. The
track around the lake remains open for the time being, but members
should take extra care to keep to the stone tracks and not stray
onto the grass, which has started to rut in a few places.
‘Half year’ Shefford & District AA books are available from our
usual outlets and remain valid through to 15th June 2017 (prices:
Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors £10). Please
note that night fishing at The Airman, Broom Lake and Willington
Lake requires optional Night Permits (there is no part year discount
on these Night Permits).

Week ending 27th Nov 2016

Relatively few Shefford & District AA
members have been seen on the banks this week, but results from the
weekend matches suggest the stillwaters are still fishing well.
The Airman hosted the latest round of the pike series and attracted
10 participants, but as with the roach fishing during the week, the
13 pike caught during the match prove to be very localised.
James Turvey was the runaway winner with no fewer than 7 pike to
10lb 4oz and a total weight of 35lb 10oz. Tony Archer secured
second place with two pike to 9lb 1oz for a total weight of 14lb.
Kevin Wilkins was third with two pike for 11lb 11oz, whilst Dave
Baker’s two pike for 4lb 15oz took fourth place. The remaining
six participants all blanked. The next round in the pike
series takes place on Sunday 11th December at Willington Lake
(contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819 for further
details).
The latest monthly match was fished at Willington Lake and despite
the cold conditions all the participants weighed in good nets of
roach and rudd. Malcolm Gibbs ran out the winner with 10lb 4oz
caught on both long whip and waggler tactics, followed by John
Salmon with 7lb 12oz on long pole. Alec Davies weighed
7lb 1oz on waggler for third, John Wigg 5lb 6oz on pole for fourth
and Nigel Gilbert 3lb 4oz on waggler for fifth. The next
monthly match will be held on Sunday 18th December at Broom Lake
(contact Nigel Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings & weekends only
for further details), where the silver fish are now more tightly
shoaled and good bags of roach are possible if fishing the right
areas of the lake.
A combination of heavy rain and frosts has helped clear the weed
from many river venues, making them easier to fish. Michael
Webb fished one of the smaller local river venues and was rewarded
with a chub around 4lb and a surprise brown trout over 3lb.
‘Half year’ Shefford & District AA books are available from our
usual outlets and remain valid through to 15th June 2017 (prices:
Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors £10). Please
note that night fishing at The Airman, Broom Lake and Willington
Lake requires optional Night Permits (there is no part year discount
on these Night Permits).

Week ending 20th Nov 2016

Once again few reports have been
received by Shefford & District AA members but a change to milder,
wetter and windier conditions should hopefully improve catches on
both rivers and stillwaters. Tony Hickmott decided to give The
Airman a try with silver fish being his intended quarry. Tony
was greeted by blue skies in the morning following a mild and wet
conditions the previous day, and from the off carp could be seen
cruising the top layers of the water, and willing to take loose fed
floating casters. Tony fished two maggots (left over from the
previous week’s fishing trip) mounted on a size 16 hook and fished
hard on the bottom. Tony soon saw the first of what turned out
to be four mirror carp come to the net, all weighing between 11lb
and 12lb, and all taken on double maggot, before a very heavy rain
shower started a return to cooler weather. Tony’s only roach
came immediately after changed to a larger size 10 hook, but then no
more carp. The Airman will be closed on Saturday 26th November
for the third round of the pike series (contact Bryan
Lancaster on 07810 454819 for further details). The lake is
closed again on Tuesday 29th November to apply 3 tonnes of Siltex to
the lake and all volunteers are welcome to attend to help move the
Siltex bags to the boat and finish applying wood chip to the swims.
The next monthly match will be held at Willington Lake on Sunday
27th November (contact Nigel Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings &
weekends only for further details). Broom Lake will be closed
on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd December whilst a tree surgeon
carries out tree work around the lake and volunteers will be
required to deal with the felled timbers.
The committee has been made aware of several recent incidents of
rule breaking, which members need to be aware of. Firstly,
several members have failed to produce their rod licences when
requested by bailiffs. It is a club rule that membership cards
and rod licences must be carried at all times whilst fishing, and
must be produced when requested by a bailiff. Members unable
to produce any of these documents to bailiffs will be asked to pack
up and leave, so make sure you have your rod licence with you.
With the undergrowth now dying back, it has revealed a clear problem
with litter at The Airman and most upsetting was the numerous empty
cans and bottles of alcohol found. The top of every page in
the club book carries the wording ‘strictly no alcohol or litter’
and anyone found breaking these rules can expect a ban from the
club.
Most worryingly we have discovered damage to banks on some of our
river venues where people have taken it upon themselves to dig out
sections of bank with a spade to make a flat area to fish from, as
well as damaging and breaking off numerous branches from trees.
This is totally unacceptable behaviour and may result in the club
losing the fishing rights on these venues. Again it is clearly
written in the rules that anyone found causing damage to fisheries
is likely to receive a ban.

‘Half-year’ membership of SDAA will be available again this season
and will be valid from 1st December 2016 through to 15th June 2017.
‘Half-year’ membership books will be available from our usual
outlets towards the end of November. The membership section of
the SDAA website will be updated in the next few days with details
of the ‘half-year’ membership fees and a ‘half-year’ application
form for those wanting to submit a postal application.

Week ending 13th Nov 2016

A number of Shefford & District AA
members have been out on the bank but no specific catches have been
reported. Anglers fishing The Airman reported catching
catfish, carp and bream ahead of the work party on Sunday. The
club would like to thank Bedford Sub Aqua Club for helping to
identify and remove several snags. Due to the recent heavy rain the
visibility had reduced to only about 3 foot, which made the dive a
bit more difficult than anticipated. Snags identified by the
divers include big water tanks, tyres, broken down metal drums, wire
fencing, metal frames and metal crates that are all now coated in
zebra mussels. These items were probably dumped in the lake well
over 50 years ago when it was used as a tip, and well before it
became a fishery. Some of the smaller snags were removed by
hand, with those that were too bulky/heavy to be removed filmed so
they will be easy to locate in the future. One of the unmovable
square water tanks was home to a catfish which the divers managed to
film before the silt was stirred up. We are hoping to arrange
another day in the spring to try and remove a few more of these
snags. We would also like to thank several volunteers that turned
up and applied wood chip to the swims around the lake whilst the
lake was closed for the divers.
The Airman will be closed on Saturday 26th November for the third
round of the pike series (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details) and the next monthly match will be held
at Willington Lake on Sunday 27th November (contact Nigel
Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings & weekends only for further details).
The Airman will be closed on Tuesday 29th November to apply 3 tonnes
of Siltex to the lake and all volunteers are welcome to attend to
help move the Siltex bags to the boat and finish applying wood chip
to the swims. Broom Lake will be closed on Friday 2nd and
Saturday 3rd December whilst a tree surgeon carries out tree work
around the lake and volunteers will be required to deal with the
felled timbers.
The SDAA committee have recently agreed to offer ‘half-year’
membership this season. ‘Half-year’ membership will be valid
from 1st December 2016 through to 15th June 2017. ‘Half-year’
membership books will be available from our usual outlets towards
the end of November. The membership section of the SDAA
website will be updated in mid-November with details of the
‘half-year’ membership fees and a ‘half-year’ application form for
those wanting to submit a postal application.

Week ending 6th Nov 2016

The sudden change to cold weather has seen far fewer Shefford &
District AA members on the bank. The second round of the pike
series held at Willington Lake saw 9 anglers land a total of 19 pike
ranging from a few ounces to double figures, for a total weight in
excess of 77lb. Stuart Lancaster had managed to catch pike on
his two previous trips to the venue and Stuart ran out the winner of
the match with two pike to 13lb 9oz for a total of 18lb 2oz.
James Turvey was just a few ounces behind in second place with three
pike to 9lb 13oz and a total weight of 17lb 13oz. Dave Baker
landed four pike to 8lb 7oz and a total weight of 15lb 3oz to secure
third place with four other anglers weighing in pike.
River anglers have been enjoying some good catches of silver fish
from all the club’s stretches along the Ouse with quality roach
featuring in many catches.
The Airman will be closed on Sunday 13th November from 9am to allow
divers to investigate several underwater snags and a work party will
also be held at the same time to apply woodchip to the swims.
All volunteers are welcome to attend the work party and please bring
a wheelbarrow if you can. The Airman will be closed on Tuesday
29th November to apply 3 tonnes of Siltex to the lake and again
volunteers are welcome to attend. Finally, advanced warning
that Broom Lake will be closed on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd
December whilst a tree surgeon carries out tree work around the lake
and volunteers will be required to deal with the felled timbers.
The Airman will be closed on Saturday 26th November for the third
round of the pike series (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details) and the next monthly match will be held
at Willington Lake on Sunday 27th November (contact Nigel
Gilbert 07931 215778 evenings & weekends only for further details).

The islands at Broom Lake have once again been cleared of end
tackle and line. The volunteers removed 2kg of leads all
attached to rigs (some with bait on), 5 spombs, 3 method feeders, 3
surface floats, 1 spod and enough line to fill an 18 litre bucket.
The haul included 3 rigs that included leadcore, the use of which
has banned on all SDAA waters for several years. Most
worrying is the poor design of several rigs with one an outright
‘death rig’ where the components were clearly prevented from sliding
off the leader material (see photos). Fortunately this rig was
found up a tree and not attached to a dead carp.
To avoid leaving tackle up the trees anglers should learn how to use
the line clip on their reels to ensure their tackle stops short of
the islands on the cast and then place a marker on the line.
Unclip after casting to avoid problems when you get a run. It
is then just a case of clipping up to the same mark before
recasting. Make sure you always stand in the same spot when
recasting and cast to the same spot. It is best to practice
without a hooklink attached until you are confident that you can
avoid casting into the trees. A quick search of the internet
will produce plenty of articles and videos explaining how to do
this.

Week endind 30th Oct 2016

The relatively mild and dry conditions
have seen plenty of Shefford & District AA members visiting the
stillwater venues with most species still on the feed. Dave Hedges
found the catfish in an obliging mood during a recent midweek
session at The Airman managing to land 5 catfish weighing 24lb 12oz,
27 lb, 34lb 4oz, 44lb and 46lb 9oz. Dave’s session also
produced 7 bream, 2 roach and a 21lb 4oz common carp. The
roach fishing has been a little inconsistent in recent weeks, but at
least everyone caught fish in the latest monthly match that was won
by John Salmon with 5lb 11oz of roach using pole tactics.
Malcolm Gibbs opted to fish the waggler and took second spot with
5lb 1oz 8dr of roach, whilst John Wigg secured third place with 4lb
2oz of roach on the pole. The Airman will be closed on Sunday
13th November from 9am to allow divers to investigate several
underwater snags and a work party will also be held to apply
woodchip to the swims. All volunteers are welcome to attend
the work party and please bring a wheelbarrow if you can.
Willington Lake will be closed on Sunday 6th November for the second
round of the pike series (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details). Carp are still being caught, but
many anglers fishing the lake are targeting the silver fish and
enjoying some bumper catches. Small roach can be caught from
virtually every swim, but the key to big catches is a bold feeding
approach and the use of selective baits to pick out the bigger fish.
One midweek angler reported taking a string of good roach to just
over the pound mark using double sweetcorn as hookbait.
Another batch of top quality mirror carp from VS Fisheries has been
stocked into both The Airman (10 carp) and Willington Lake (15
carp). These C4 carp (4 summers old) averaged around the 9lb
mark and have a variety of scale patterns and body shapes. We
would appreciate members accurately weighing and sending photos of
any ‘stockies’ so that we can follow their progress in future years.
Some of the VS Fisheries C4 carp from previous stockings into
Willington Lake are now in excess of 30lb, and still growing.
The highly invasive non-native species Floating Pennywort is
now established in several areas of the Ouse downstream of Bedford.
The presence of Floating Pennywort has been confirmed on our
stretches of river at both Willington and Little Paxton, so anglers
must take great care to follow the Check, Clean, Dry biosecurity
procedures to prevent accidentally transferring this invasive
species to other water bodies. If you spot this species on any
club water (other than the Ouse) please report it to a member of the
committee ASAP.

Week ending 23rd Oct 2016

Once again few reports of catches have
been received from Shefford & District AA members this week. The
carp fishing at Broom Lake has been quite consistent in recent weeks
with several anglers enjoying multiple catches with a number of 20s
being landed. Sandie Cornell enjoyed another successful
daytime session tempting four carp using boilies as bait, topped by
a common carp of 20lb 10oz. With water temperatures cooling
the silver fish are starting to shoal up more tightly so it is worth
moving swims if you are struggling for bites.
Reports on social media suggest both catfish and carp have been
feeding at The Airman during the last week. The venue will
host the next round of the monthly match series on Sunday 30th
October with pegs 2-12 (inclusive) reserved for the match (for
further information contact Nigel Gilbert on 07931 215778 -
evenings & weekends only). The Airman will be closed on Sunday
13th November from 9am to allow divers to investigate several
underwater snags and a work party will also be held to apply
woodchip to the swims. All volunteers are welcome to attend
the work party and please bring a wheelbarrow if you can.
Willington Lake will be closed on Sunday 6th November for the second
round of the pike series (contact Bryan Lancaster on 07810
454819 for further details).
Several fisheries already contain invasive non-native species of
plants (e.g. Himalayan Balsam) and animals (e.g. signal crayfish)
and anglers should make themselves aware of the Check, Clean, Dry
biosecurity procedures to help prevent the spread of non-native
species, as well as reducing the risk of spreading any fish
diseases. Floating Pennywort is now established in several
areas of the Ouse downstream of Bedford through to Brampton, so
anglers need to take care not to accidentally transfer this invasive
species to other water bodies. Floating Pennywort is easily
identified by its shiny, kidney-shaped leaves with crinkled edge,
which are frequently broader than long. Please report to a
member of the committee if you spot this species on any club water
(other than the Ouse).

Once again few reports of catches have
been received from Shefford & District AA members this week.
Broom Lake has continued to produce some decent carp catches and
whilst most are carp are mid doubles there a good number of 20s also
showing, exemplified by the 24lb common landed by Tony Parsons
during a recent overnight session. The fist pike match of the
year was held on the venue last weekend and it turned out to be a
very disappointing affair with none of the five participants
managing to catch.
The next round of the monthly match series will be fished at The
Airman on Sunday 30th October with pegs 2-12 (inclusive) reserved
for the match. These matches are also open to all members and
anyone wanting further information can contact Nigel Gilbert
07931 215778 (evenings & weekends only).
Anglers are still enjoying good bags of silver fish at Willington
Lake on both float and feeder tactics although sport can often be
interrupted by the unwanted attentions of pike homing in on the
feeding fish. Willington Lake will be closed on Sunday 6th
November for the second round of the pike series (contact
Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819 for further details).

Several stillwater venues are currently suffering from low water
levels so it pays to think about how you can safely land and return
large fish to the water before starting to fish. At Willington
Lake anglers will need a decent set of waterproof boots or waders to
land and return fish in areas of the lake where the margins are
currently shallow in several areas. Water levels at Stanford
Pit are still extremely low and the fishery remains closed to
angling.
The Environment Agency have completed their weed cutting campaign on
the River Ivel but our Broom River section has not been cut this
year, so it may take longer than usual for all the weed to die back
and make all swims fishable.

Week ending 9th Oct 2016

Although the weather has been fairly
settled, few reports of catches have been received from Shefford &
District AA members. Sandie Cornell reported a new PB common
carp from Broom Lake a couple of weeks ago. Sandie returned to
the venue and a boilie fished at 50 yards range resulted in another
PB in the shape of a 22lb 10oz mirror carp. Broom Lake will be
closed on Saturday 15th October for the first round of the pike
matches. These matches are open to all members and anyone
wanting further information regarding the pike matches can contact
Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819.
Mark Tomlin recently fished the Ouse at Little Paxton and landed a
14lb 7oz barbel. Hopefully the river sections will become even
more productive as flows begin to pick up and the weed starts to die
back.
Finally, advanced warning that pegs 2-12 (inclusive) will be
unavailable at The Airman on Sunday 30th October due to the next
round of the monthly match series. These matches are also open
to all members and anyone wanting further information can contact
Nigel Gilbert 07931 215778 (evenings & weekends only).

Week ending 2nd Oct 2016

The arrival of autumn has seen fishing
improve across all Shefford & District AA venues with the river
sections also now running into form. Head bailiff Kevin
Williams enjoyed a successful weekend session on the Ouse at
Pavenham landing a range of species. Fishing maggot during the
day saw Kevin land a succession of small fish including a number of
good roach, but a switch to bigger baits as dusk approached and
through the night produced some much bigger fish. Kevin landed
five chub over 4lb topped by a specimen of 7lb 2oz, as well as two
barbel of 9lb and 11lb 3oz.
Dave Hedges continued his run of success at The Airman landing five
catfish during his latest four night session weighing 7lb 2oz, 16lb
6oz, 20lb 6oz, 38lb 2oz and 42lb 4 oz. Carp have also been
feeding with Fred Parker landing one of the lake’s old warriors in
the shape of a 20lb 5oz common. Roach anglers have also been
enjoying success using both float and feeder tactics, but the common
problem is keeping in touch with the roach shoals when they attract
the attentions of the predators. Colin Smith soon had decent
roach feeding on his waggler and pellet approach and it wasn’t long
before he had 20 good redfins in the net, but the unmistakable
strike of a large catfish in the middle of the feeding area soon
dispersed the shoal with Colin left struggling for any bites.
Broom Lake continues to fish well with plenty of carp to low 20s
reported. Robert Symonds landed four common carp during a
recent overnight session topped by a plump 23lb fish. Alec
Davies has been fishing caster using a whip and landed several good
bags of roach and skimmer bream during the week. Broom Lake
will be closed on Saturday 15th October for the first round of the
pike matches. These matches are open to all members and anyone
wanting further information regarding the pike matches can contact
Bryan Lancaster on 07810 454819

Week ending 25th Sept 2016

There has been plenty of action across
all Shefford & District AA stillwaters as the larger species have
started to pack on extra weight ahead of the winter.
Plenty of catfish and carp have been landed at The Airman in recent
weeks with Dave Hedges managing seven catfish to 42lb 2oz and two
common carp to 19lb 6oz over a four night session. Junior
Dexter Allen has landed a number of different species from the venue
this season and managed to tempt a 14lb 2oz catfish on his latest
trip. Please note The Airman will be closed to fishing for a
work party on Saturday 1st October from 9am through to 5pm.
The work will include improving some of the swims and managing some
of the reed beds, and all members are welcome to attend.
Broom Lake recently hosted an interclub match against Ampthill DAC,
which was won by SDAA member Alec Davies with 13lb 7oz of bream.
Ampthill anglers took the next two positions with Stuart Kitley
putting together a 10lb 6oz mixed bag of skimmers, perch and roach
for second and Martin Ward 5lb 8oz 8dr for third. Carp
anglers have been enjoying plenty of action with plenty of fish to
low 20s reported. Sandie Cornell is a venue regular and she
managed four carp during a day session with all the carp caught on
boilies fished at 40 yards, including a new PB common carp of 20lb
4oz.
Willington Lake has been receiving a lot of attention from carp
anglers in recent weeks but none appear willing to report their
captures. Anglers fishing for the smaller species are still
enjoying good catches from several different areas of the lake and
the abundance of small fish bodes well for the pike fishing over the
winter months. The club will be hosting a series of 7 pike
matches from mid-October through to March with dates and venues
listed in the membership book, but anyone wanting further
information regarding the pike matches can contact Bryan
Lancaster on 07810 454819.

Week ending 11th Sept 2016

Plenty of Shefford & District AA
members have been enjoying the recent spell of fairly settled
weather with several good catches reported. As the nights draw
in and water temperatures start to drop anglers can expect the
larger species to feed more actively as they pack on extra weight
for the winter. The annual catfish match was held at The
Airman last weekend with eleven anglers taking part hoping the match
coincided with a spell of heavy feeding by the catfish that now run
to over 60lb. Unfortunately the catfish proved somewhat
difficult to tempt with Paul Williams winning the match with a
single catfish of 31lb 2oz. Second place was secured by Edd
Allen with a catfish of 25lb 4oz and Mick Abbot was third with a
fish of 19lb 1oz. Sunday saw young junior Dexter Allen land a
tench of 6lb 6oz on a float ledgered lobworm and Adrian Fehr land a
mirror carp of 28lb 15oz. The lake has also been fishing well
for silver fish in recent weeks with several anglers reporting good
nets of roach.

Broom Lake has been a popular venue but the carp have been feeding
in fits and starts. Andy Riley caught the venue just right
when cooler temperatures switched the carp on the feed and he
managed twelve carp to low 20s in just a few hours on his first
night, before sport slowed down picking up just a few more fish
during his midweek session. Anglers have reported plenty of
commons to low 20s in recent weeks and Matt Rayner tempted a fully
scaled 23lb mirror last weekend. Relatively few anglers have
been fishing for the silver fish recently, but plenty of bream have
been caught on baits intended for the carp. The whole lake is
closed on Sunday 18th September for an interclub match against
Ampthill DAC. All members are welcome to take part in this
match and further details can be obtained from David Baker (07784
537047). The last interclub match fished on the venue against
Letchworth GCAA at the end of August was won with over 12lb of fish,
with two thirds of the contestants weighing in over 4lb.
Carp anglers continue to remain tight lipped about their captures at
Willington Lake. Feedback suggests the larger specimens have
been largely preoccupied on naturals although a few have been
tempted by anglers baits. The more recent ‘stockies’ have
proven far more reliable feeders in recent weeks. The lake has also
seen plenty of anglers targeting other species with tench anglers
reporting a healthy number of smaller tench showing up alongside the
larger specimens. There are plenty of skimmer bream also
showing in catches from certain areas of the lake. Anglers
targeting the better roach, which now run to well over the pound
mark, are currently experiencing large shoals of smaller roach
moving into baited areas requiring the use of larger selective baits
to tempt the larger specimens.
Members should note that Stanford Pit is closed to fishing until
further notice due to low water levels combined with prolific weed
growth resulting in low oxygen levels, especially during periods of
hot weather. The situation will be reviewed once water
temperatures fall and the weed begins to die off.
Many parts of the Ivel and its tributaries are still heavily weeded
and many areas are proving difficult to fish. Weed is less of
a problem on the club’s stretches on the Ouse and members should
note that Pavenham will be closed during the weekend 24th and 25th
September as members of the SDAA bailiff team will be enjoying a
weekend ‘fish in’.

Week ending 21st August 2016

Recent results on Shefford & District
AA waters have often been governed by the weather with overcast or
windy conditions proving much more productive than calm and sunny
conditions. Whilst most members concentrate on still waters,
Head Bailiff Kevin Williams has been concentrating his efforts on
the rivers and in particular the Ouse at Little Paxton in search of
barbel. Kevin's persistence finally paid off with the capture
of an excellent 14lb 6oz specimen with a smaller barbel of 7lb
during the same session. Members are again reminded that
vehicles must not exceed 5mph whilst travelling through the Little
Paxton allotments and vehicles can only be parked in the designated
car park described in the club book.
Broom Lake has seen several anglers enjoy multiple captures of carp
with most fish being double figure commons. Jake Kitching landed
commons upto 19lb 7oz on his first overnight session on the venue.
Mark Lumley reported catching three commons of 13lb,18lb and 19lb
during a recent daytime session. Pegs 1-5 and 30-42 will be
unavailable on Sunday 28th August for an interclub match against
Letchworth GCAA. Further details about the interclub matches can be
obtained from David Baker (07784 537047).
Willington Lake has continued to fish well for tench, bream and
roach particularly when a strong breeze is blowing. A
significant number of smaller tench up to 4lb have been featuring in
catches as well as the bigger specimens up to 8 lb, which are often
caught on carp tactics.
Plenty of roach to well over the pound mark have been landed, but
more selective baits are often required to avoid the smaller fish in
order to catch the better stamp of roach.
The recent warm weather has seen water levels at Stanford Pit fall
quite rapidly and the fish are now concentrated in the deeper areas
of the lake. With the fish under stress the lake has been closed to
fishing until further notice.

Week ending 7th August 2016

Plenty of Shefford & District AA
members have been spending time on the banks enjoying the summer
weather and whilst many of the smaller species have been happy to
feed during the heat of the day, those in search of the larger fish
have often found dusk through to early morning to be the most
productive periods. The recent monthly match held at The
Airman again demonstrated that there are plenty of fish to be caught
in addition to the catfish and carp. John Salmon ran out the
clear winner with 22lb 9oz comprising of mainly roach and perch but
boosted by two tench of 5lb and 6lb 9oz all caught on the pole.
Malcolm Gibbs was second with 14lb of mainly roach caught on the
long whip, with Nigel Gilbert third with 7lb 6oz of mainly roach
plus a few skimmers and perch on the pole.
John Wigg was fourth with 6lb 7oz and Neil Bygrave fifth with 4lb
1oz.
Darren Brown found Broom Lake to be unresponsive until the sun
started to set and then went on to catch five bream and three carp
during his overnight session. Darren’s two biggest carp were
commons of 17lb and 18lb 14oz. Mervyn Saville also reported a
nice common of 18lb 1oz. When the carp are reluctant to feed
there are plenty of other species to target with new member Paul
Carr landing a 6lb 6oz bream during his first evening session on the
venue. Members should note that the lake will be closed from
midnight on Friday 19th August through to 11am on Sunday 21st August
for the Dean Johnson memorial match, which is an invitation only
event. Pegs 1-5 and 30-42 will also be unavailable on Sunday
28th August for an interclub match against Letchworth GCAA. An
interclub match is also being held against Ampthill DAC on Sunday
21st August at their Marston Pit. Further details about the
interclub matches can be obtained from David Baker (07784 537047).
The smaller carp continue to feature in catches at Willington Lake
with the tench also featuring in daytime catches. The smaller
species continue to be reliable feeders with Paul Carr catching
roach on his first trip to the water. Paul also found that
once the silver fish are feeding the pike are also attracted to the
swim and attempt to intercept hooked fish. A change to a
bigger hook resulted in Paul managing to land one of the culprits in
the shape of a 9lb 2oz pike, but at the expense of a broken landing
net handle.
The Ouse at Little Paxton is proving a popular river venue and
whilst many anglers are targeting the double figure barbel it is
other species that are currently dominating catches. Bream and
eels are falling to ledger tactics, whilst mixed bags of roach,
perch and chub are being caught on the float. This is a members
only water and day tickets are not available. Members parking
vehicles within the allotments are reminded a club key is now
required for access, vehicles must not exceed 5mph and must only be
parked in the designated car park.

Week ending 31st July 2016

The recent settled weather has seen
increased numbers of Shefford & District AA members on the bank with
some good fish being reported. The catfish at The Airman were
back on the feed with several members landing catfish up to 46lb.
Members should note that this venue contains zebra mussels that can
easily damage main line that lead to unexpected breakages, so it is
worth regularly checking your mainline for any damage.
Anglers fishing for the smaller species have continued to enjoy good
mixed bags of roach, perch and skimmer bream often including roach
to well over the pound mark.
Many carp anglers fishing Willington Lake are reluctant to disclose
their catches, but those who are more open report that the weed is
far less prolific this year allowing baits to be more easily
presented. However, the larger carp appear to be more
preoccupied with abundance of natural food at the moment with the
recent stockies showing most interest in anglers baits. Plenty
of tench are still being caught on both boilies and more traditional
baits. Anglers targeting the smaller species are enjoying
mixed success with catches depending very much on the direction and
strength of the wind with most anglers struggling under flat and
calm conditions.
Plenty of carp continue to be caught at Broom Lake and whilst most
fish reported are mid double commons several of the more recently
stocked mirror carp have been landed, including some fully scaled
mirrors. Tench have been featuring in catches, but the most
notable capture was a 10lb 7oz bream landed by Liam Prout, which was
not only a new PB for Liam but also a new lake record for this
species.

Week ending 24th July 2016

The recent hot spell has seen many
Shefford & District AA members struggling to catch the larger
species during the heat of the day, whilst those targeting the
smaller fish have carried on catching. One exception was
Richard Draycott who managed to land a large catfish at The Airman
that picked up his bait during a daytime session.
Unfortunately Richard’s scales only went to 40lb, which the fish
bottomed out. Measuring 57 inches from head to tail the
catfish probably weighed somewhere around the 45lb mark.
Anglers fishing for the smaller species have enjoyed good mixed bags
of roach, perch and skimmer bream with the odd bonus tench and
larger bream also featuring in catches. The next monthly match is
being fished at the venue on Sunday 31st July (contact Nigel Gilbert
on 07931 215778 for details). This match will use pegs 2-10,
which need to be vacated by midnight on the eve of the match.
The undergrowth along the track at Willington Lake has been cut down
to allow anglers to park behind most of the pegs along the track.
Anglers targeting the carp are often finding the tench to be more
willing feeders with several tincas in the 7-8lb bracket being
reported. The weed is not as prolific this year and those
targeting the smaller species are usually able to find plenty of
clear spots to fish. When a strong breeze blows anglers are
finding the feeder outscores the float as it allows a static bait to
be presented. Colin Smith decided to feeder fish along the
track and had a nice roach on his first cast using red maggot as
bait. He carried on steadily catching roach and skimmer bream
along with the odd perch and rudd for the next few hours.
The carp at Broom Lake have been very visible on the hottest days
basking in the surface layers with early morning and sunset often
the best feeding times for the carp. Once again it is the
members fishing for the smaller species that have enjoyed most
success during the day. Whilst maggots are almost guaranteed
to bring plenty of bites they often attract a lot of small roach and
perch into the swim. Those anglers who persevere with more
selective baits are enjoying a much better stamp of roach.
Although relatively few reports from the rivers, Kevin Williams
landed a nice chub of exactly 6lb from the Ouse at Little Paxton
during a night time session.

Week ending 10th July 2016

The reasonably settled conditions
during last week saw Shefford & District AA members enjoying
considerable success. New member Nik Taylor started the week
with an overnight session at The Airman and managed to land three
mirror carp the smallest being 14lb 5oz and a 22lb 13oz common.
Although Nik was targeting the carp he also reported landing a huge
10lb 10oz tench, which was witnessed by another member.
Several decent catfish were also caught during the week including
one caught by Dave Hedges. Anglers targeting the smaller
species continue to enjoy mixed nets of bream, tench, roach and
perch, which bodes well for the next match to be fished at the venue
using pegs 2-10 on Sunday 31st July (contact Nigel Gilbert on 07931
215778 for details). Eight year old Associate Junior member
Allana Fehr accompanied her father Adrian on a recent trip and was
happy catching roach until a pike decided to intercept some of the
fish being landed, but she eventually hooked and landed the pike.
However, Allana’s greatest achievement was to land a 2lb roach, a
target many far more experienced anglers would love to achieve.
The milder weather, added to the ability to park behind your peg,
has seen significantly more anglers fishing Broom Lake. After
success elsewhere early in the week, Nik Taylor paid this venue a
visit towards the end of the week and was not disappointed.
During his session Nik caught a total of 11 carp including a 19lb
11oz mirror and 5 commons over the 20lb mark (20lb 12oz, 24lb, 24lb
4oz, 26lb 8oz and 28lb 1oz). Richard Knight fished an
overnight session and landed 3 carp that included two doubles topped
by a 21lb 8oz mirror, plus a tench and a bream.
A reminder that Mick Parkinson is running some coaching sessions at
Willington Lake as part of the Angling Trust’s ‘Get Back Into
Angling’ initiative. Sessions will run from 09.00-13.00
and 14.00-18.00 on the 24th, 26th and 28th July (to book contact
Mick on 07914 530185). Anglers should take extreme care when
exiting the venue as (in common with many local country roads) the
verges are heavily overgrown and blocking the view of oncoming
traffic.
The interclub match fished on LGCAA waters at Poppy Hill saw the
local anglers making full use of home advantage. Of the 18
anglers taking part, seven weighed in over 10lb with a top weight of
35lb of mainly carp. Dave Baker was the only SDAA angler to
break 10lb, with his 15lb 1oz taking fifth place.

Week ending 3rd July 2016

With warm and settled conditions
forecast Shefford & District AA members should be prepared to see
some species (especially the carp) go through the spawning process
again. The Airman catfish came back on the feed with Kevin
Payne landing a new PB of 47lb 5oz along with two other catfish of
43lb 7oz and 17lb 8oz during a recent 48h session. Many
anglers still believe catfish are only nocturnal feeders, but Edd
Allen also managed to top the 40lb mark with a catfish of 45lb
caught during daylight hours. Anglers targeting the smaller
species have been enjoying mixed nets of bream, tench, roach and
perch with the shallower margin areas often proving the most
productive.
Mick Parkinson is running some coaching sessions at Willington Lake
as part of the Angling Trust’s ‘Get Back Into Angling’ initiative.
Mick is a qualified Level 2 angling coach and these sessions are
designed to give individuals the skills and confidence to get back
into angling. Sessions will run from 09.00-13.00 and
14.00-18.00 on the 24th, 26th and 28th July. To book a place
please contact Mick on 07914 530185. The venue continues to
fish well for silver fish, with tench and bream also showing up in
catches. On the carp front the more recent stockies are
proving far easier to tempt with anglers baits than the larger
residents.
There have been few reports from the rivers since the start of the
season. Kevin Williams fished the IPA’s Back Meadows stretch
of the Ivel and was delighted to catch a number of decent roach to
1lb 9oz using 8mm pellets on ledger tactics.
A reminder that the next match will be an interclub affair fished on
LGCAA waters at Poppy Hill on Sunday 10th July and members wanting
to take part should contact Dave Baker (07784 537047).

Week ending 26th June 2016

With changeable conditions throughout
the week Shefford & District AA members have experienced mixed
fortunes, with the larger species often only feeding for short
spells. The Airman has seen only the odd catfish caught
whilst anglers targeting the silver fish have continued to
experience consistent sport. Darren Brown had been struggling
to get anything to show interest in his baits, but following heavy
rain during Saturday night the fish appeared to be triggered into
feeding and Darren went on to land five bream to 8lb and three carp
to 17lb 2oz over the next few hours.
Most anglers have been targeting the carp at Broom Lake in recent
weeks, but the first match of the season confirmed the lake contains
a healthy population of silver fish. The eight anglers taking
part in the match were faced with overcast conditions with a light
breeze and most chose to float fish using either pole or rod and
reel. John Salmon opted to fish the pole and put together a
good net of roach and perch, boosted by a bonus bream of 3lb 8oz, to
return the winning weight of 11lb 12oz. Second place was taken
by Neil Bygrave with 9lb 2oz of mainly roach with a few perch caught
on the waggler followed in third place by Malcolm Gibbs with 8lb 9oz
of roach also on the waggler. Match organiser Nigel Gilbert
used the whip for mainly roach and perch boosted by a bonus 3lb 9oz
tench for a total of 6lb 10oz for fourth place, and John Wigg fished
the pole to finish fifth with a mixed bag weighing 5lb 6oz.
The next match will be an interclub affair fished on LGCAA waters at
Poppy Hill on Sunday 10th July and members wanting to take part
should contact Dave Baker (07784 537047).

Week ending 19th June 2016

With rivers running high and coloured
at the start of the river season most Shefford & District AA members
elected to fish the stillwaters. One exception was Kevin
Williams who had been prebaiting a swim at Little Paxton ahead of
the river season in the hope of catching an early season barbel.
Kevin cast out on the stroke of midnight and within five minutes he
had a bite resulting in a 5lb bream, another species noted for
feeding well when the rivers are coloured. Kevin’s prebaiting
had clearly attracted a large shoal of bream as he proceeded to land
one bream after another on his pellet bait with his best fish
weighing just over 9lb. Apart from the bream, Kevin also landed a
decent chub of 5lb.
Several anglers have enjoyed multiple captures of carp from Broom
Lake in recent weeks. Andrew Riley managed 10 carp to 18lb 6oz
plus two bream and a small tench during a 48h session, whilst new
member Matt Simcock landed 6 carp to 15lb and two tench. Mat
Rayner managed one of the best fish reported in recent weeks with a
common carp of 22lb 4oz. Dave Hedges had a successful first
session on the lake landing a total of 10 carp during his 3 night
stay, consisting of nine commons to 19lb 10oz and a mirror of 19lb
6oz. Broom Lake will hold the first match of the season on
Sunday 26th June with pegs 1-5 and 30-42 reserved for the match.
The matches are open to all SDAA members with the draw at 8am with
fishing from 9am to 3pm, and further details can be obtained from
Nigel Gilbert (07931 215778).
There have been few reports from The Airman this week with the odd
double figure carp and bream landed during the week. Members
should be aware that there will be some emergency tree work
undertaken during the next week to deal with a dead willow tree by
peg 2 that is in danger of falling into the lake and to pollard some
of the willows along the roadside bank.
Several carp have been landed at Willington Lake where a mobile
approach has often been the key to success. Several carp have
been intercepted whilst patrolling the margins, whilst when
conditions are right a few have been tempted on surface baits.
Several of the most recently stocked carp have been landed and are
showing excellent growth rates thanks to the abundance of natural
food in the lake.

Week ending 12th June 2016

Recent catches have been as
unpredictable as the weather across Shefford & District AA waters
during the last week, and those members approaching waters with an
open mind about target species have enjoyed most success. Life
member Pete Allen has enjoyed great success with the large roach at
The Airman this year, but with small roach intercepting his float
fished baits Pete adopted a more positive approach fishing over
depth in the margins. These tactics resulted in a string of
good tench and bream, with some of the bream approaching double
figures.
Anglers targeting the carp at Willington Lake are keeping tight
lipped about their captures, although one revealed the accidental
capture of an 8lb 10oz tench. Several anglers have enjoyed
some good bags of roach and skimmers on float tactics. Pete
Biernis fished for the tench but was delighted to catch a roach just
under the 2lb mark. Tony Hickmott was surprised to land a
sizeable terrapin that took a liking to his float fished
maggot-sweet corn cocktail, and anglers should take care to handle
them with extreme care as they carry a very strong bite.
Several anglers have managed to catch double figure carp from Broom
Lake, but with many carp still carrying spawn they should be
returned to the water as quickly as possible. Mat Rayner
landed commons of 14lb and 8lb, plus a 5lb tench. Michael
Webb’s ledger rod had been motionless, so he decided to set up a 4
metre whip with no elastic using 4lb line and a size 16 hook.
In the next two hours, using a single grain of sweetcorn as bait,
Michael had landed a 7lb 1oz tench, 4lb bream and numerous roach
whilst his ledger rod still remained motionless.
The river season restarts on 16th June and the recent rain (with
more unsettled weather forecast) is likely to result in the rivers
being well above normal levels and highly coloured.

Week ending 5th June 2016

Hopefully the recent spell of warm
weather has finally triggered the carp into spawning across all
Shefford & District AA waters. Members should avoid casting
into any areas where carp (or other species) are obviously spawning
and any carp caught should be handled with extreme care whilst they
recover from the stress of spawning. The Airman has continued
to produce good catches for several anglers with a range of species
reported during the last week. Venue regular John Dickman
spent a fruitless day in pursuit of the catfish, but just as he was
packing up one of his baits was picked up and resulted in a new PB
pike of 26lb. Darren Seeney and Moray McLeod both enjoyed a
very successful overnight session. Moray landed his first ever
catfish of 32lb just after darkness, plus a mirror carp of 15lb and
a common carp of 19lb during the night. Moray also caught over a
dozen roach between 1lb 3oz and 2lb 2oz, with the majority around
the 2lb mark, all falling to 10mm bloodworm boilies. Meanwhile
Darren landed a hard fighting 17lb 2oz mirror carp within 20 minutes
of casting out and then caught a number of tench to 4lb 5oz during
the night. Edd Allen has been teaching his young son Dexter how to
fish the pole. Dexter seemed to master the technique fairly
quickly landing 20 roach, two perch and a small jack pike that took
a liking to a worm.
A reminder that the close season still applies on rivers, which
reopen for fishing on 16th June. A work party is being held at
Little Paxton on Wednesday 15th June to strim the footpath and make
the swims fishable along the allotment bank. All volunteers
are welcome to attend, meeting around 9am in the club car park
within the allotments.

Week ending 29th May 2016

Most species have now been through spawning on
Shefford & District AA waters with the exception of the carp, which
will no doubt become preoccupied with spawning as soon as we have a
few days of warmer weather. Steve Braham had hoped to
tempt some catfish on his latest trip to The Airman, but whilst
Steve’s catfish rods remained motionless his carp rod produced five
carp topped by an 18lb mirror.
Paul Burton is a regular visitor to Broom Lake and landed a 20lb
2oz common carp on his latest overnight session. The venue has
been fishing well for bream and tench in recent weeks, with Peter
Rose catching a new PB tench of 7lb 7oz whilst his dad managed a
tench of 5lb 6oz.
The tench have also been feeding well at Willington Lake with Mick
Parkinson landing a nice specimen of 7lb 14oz on robin red pellet
fished over a bed of skretting pellet at close range, fishing just 2
rod lengths out in 8ft of water

Week ending 22nd May 2016

The cooler temperatures have seen the
carp showing a greater interest in anglers baits across Shefford &
District AA waters, but members should be aware that the next hot
spell is likely to trigger the carp into frantic spawning activity.
Glen Mills paid his first visit to Willington Lake and was rewarded
with a superbly conditioned common carp just over 20lb and two
tench, including a new PB of 7lb.
With the track around Broom Lake now open to cars and small vans
the venue has seen an increased number of anglers on the bank.
Earlier in the week Mervyn Saville set his stall out for tench but
latched into a hard fighting common carp of 17lb 2oz that tested his
light tench tackle to the limit, and also accounted for a tench of
6lb 10oz. Mervyn returned at the weekend and managed a couple
of mid double commons before landing a common carp of 21lb 1oz.
The new 2016/17 membership books contain a couple of errors
regarding telephone numbers. Head Bailiff Kevin Williams
should be contacted on 07921 517683 and the new number for The
Tackle Shed is 01582 966920. Anyone who is interested in
becoming a club bailiff should contact Kevin to discuss what is
involved. Members are reminded that the river season does not
start until 16th June and we hope to hold a work party at Little
Paxton over the next few weeks to ensure the swims along the
allotment bank are accessible and fishable

Week ending 15th May 2016

Despite the short spell of cold weather,
there are obvious signs of some species spawning across Shefford &
District AA waters so members should handle all fish with extreme
care over the next few weeks. Fisheries Officer James Turvey
was hoping for a quiet night at The Airman to catch up on some sleep
following the recent birth of his first child. However, James
was kept awake by a series of catfish homing in on his bait, landing
five catfish to 26lb during his short overnight session. James
reported other anglers had enjoyed some good bags of bream and
tench, whilst it has been hit and miss for anglers targeting the
roach as they have been spawning in the reed beds. Daniel
Munnery reported landing a 23lb mirror carp early one morning.
The track around Broom Lake has been repaired and is now open for
use by cars and small vans. The track is unsuitable for long
wheelbase and/or heavy vehicles. Tench and bream continue to
fall to baits intended for the carp at Broom Lake, as well as
falling to those anglers float fishing for the roach and rudd.
Alec Davies fished the tip at Willington Lake and put together a
good net of roach and skimmers up to the pound mark, plus a
bonus tench of 5lb.
SDAA membership cards for the 2016/17 season are now available from
all our local outlets. Membership will be valid from date of
purchase through to 15th June 2017. Full details about membership,
night permits and application forms can be found on the membership
section of the SDAA website. Please note that night permits and
associate junior membership are only available by postal application
to the Registrar, so please allow a few days for these to be
processed.

Week ending 8th May 2016

As anticipated the sudden rise in
temperatures saw sport generally improve across Shefford & District
AA waters for most species. The catfish were back on the feed
at The Airman with Richard Knight landing 3 catfish all between 43
and 44lb during his latest session. His first fish was landed
in darkness during the early hours, whilst the other two were caught
during the middle of the afternoon. Steve Braham reported
landing a catfish of 45lb, whilst several other anglers managed to
tempt some of the smaller mid double ‘kittens’. Tom Farren had
spent the winter trying to locate one of the lake’s 20lb+ pike, so
it was rather ironic that when he switched his attention to the
catfish a screaming run resulted in a 25lb pike that took a liking
to a chunk of mackerel fished on a size 1/0 hook. The soaring
temperatures saw the carp showing great interest in one another, but
very little interest in angler’s baits. Members targeting the
smaller species were still enjoying good sport with roach, perch,
bream and tench featuring in catches.
Repairs to the track around Broom Lake were due to be undertaken on
11th and 12th May and the track should then be open for use by cars
and small vans. The hot weather saw the carp swimming around
in the upper layers with carp baits fished on the bottom picking up
some good tench and bream, rather than the target species.
Alan Sefton landed a very nice 8lb tench whilst fishing on the
feeder.
SDAA membership cards for the 2016/17 season are now available from
all our local outlets. Membership will be valid from date of
purchase through to 15th June 2017. Full details about membership,
night permits and application forms can be found on the membership
section of the SDAA website. Please note that night permits and
associate junior membership are only available by postal application
to the Registrar, so please allow a few days for these to be
processed.

Week ending 1st May 2016

Hopefully the forecast of a warm and
settled start to May will see water temperatures rising and sport
picking up across Shefford & District AA waters. Whilst the
larger species such as carp and catfish have recently been in a
fairly unresponsive mood, members targeting the smaller species have
been enjoying success. Mick Baldwin has been enjoying some
excellent catches of roach at The Airman with a couple of fish
topping the 2lb mark. Mick likes fishing a slider float to
cope with the depth of water rather than use the feeder tactics
adopted by many anglers. Mick’s latest trip saw him land five
good bream around the 5lb mark, plus a couple of smaller skimmers
before the roach moved into his swim. Edd Allen also adopted
the slider float and tempted a 4lb 12oz tench on a 12mm halibut
pellet.
Willington Lake has also witnessed an improvement in the roach
fishing with some anglers managing to catch fish well over the pound
mark using selective baits to avoid the smaller fish. John
Wigg’s latest trip saw him net 16 decent roach all between 8-12oz
along with three roach/bream hybrids around the pound mark.
John’s catch would have been even better if he hadn’t been pestered
by pike dispersing the silver fish. Jaqui Nash landed a nice
7lb 9oz bream from Broom Lake otherwise there have been few reports
from the venue.
SDAA membership cards for the 2016/17 season should be available
from all our local outlets by the 9th May. Membership will be valid
from date of purchase through to 15th June 2017. Full details about
membership, night permits and application forms can now be found on
the membership section of the SDAA website. The new ‘A10’ key is
being introduced for next season so gates will carry both ‘A9’ and
‘A10’ locks for a few weeks from early May until 16th June.
Members should take care to interlock the two locks so that holders
of either key can open the gates.

Week ending 24th April 2016

The recent cold daytime temperatures
have seen fewer Shefford & District AA members on the bank with many
struggling to tempt any fish, which was in stark contrast to the
warmer conditions at the beginning of the week when the fish were
still feeding well. Rob Prutton landed a 23lb ghost carp from
Broom Lake during an overnight session, whilst Andrew Harris tempted
a 12lb mirror carp. The track around the lake will remain
closed until contractors have carried out repairs to several damaged
and/or waterlogged areas. The repair work will take two days,
but we have to wait for the contractors to finish their current job;
therefore, we can give a firm date for the reopening of the track at
the moment.
There have been no reports of catfish from The Airman this week, but
anglers targeting smaller species have been enjoying success.
David Hawkes fished float fish maggot and was catching the odd fish
during the afternoon before the fish suddenly switched on and it was
a bite every cast. David included several perch to 2lb in a
net of predominantly roach up to the pound mark. Kevin Wilkins
managed to tempt a couple of early season tench at Willington Lake
with his biggest fish weighing 6lb 6oz.
The Shefford & District AA committee are pleased to announce that
Steve Poplett has been awarded life membership of the club.
Steve had been selling club books from his tackle shop in Stevenage
since the 1970s and hopefully he will now have more time to go
fishing following his recent retirement. The tackle shop is
now trading as JL Fishing Tackle Ltd who will continue to be an
outlet for club books.
We hope to have SDAA membership cards for the 2016/17 season
available from our local outlets by the end of the first week in
May. Membership will be valid from date of purchase through to 15th
June 2017. All prices will be the same as last season. Full details
about membership, night permits and application forms will appear on
the membership section of the SDAA website by the end of April.
Please note a new ‘A10’ key is being introduced next season so the
gates will carry both ‘A9’ and ‘A10’ locks for a few weeks from
early May until 16th June. Finally, a reminder that EA rod
licences expired at the end of March, so anyone over the age of 12
should ensure they have a new EA rod licence (two EA rod licences
are required if you use three rods).

Week ending 17th April 2016

The fishing continues to improve
across Shefford & District AA stillwaters as water temperatures
continue to nudge higher, despite some sharp overnight frosts.
The Airman has been in stunning form for the catfish that fed hard
during the week. For the second week in a row John Dickman broke
the 50lb barrier, but this time by over 10lb by setting a new
personal best with a catfish of 60lb 13oz. Ricky Crane also
set a new personal best early in the week with a catfish of 44lb,
with Steven Duroe catching a 44lb catfish and Tom Gaby a 36lb
catfish later in the week. Other species have also been
feeding well with Geoff Knowles using float fished double red maggot
in the margins to tempt five tench, four of which were all between
5lb 4oz and 5lb 14oz, and a bream of 5lb 14oz. Plenty of good
sized roach have also been caught on both float and feeder tactics.
Although many anglers have remained tight lipped about their
exploits at Willington Lake we have reports of several carp to 26lb
being caught, including several of the more recent stockies that
have adapted well to their new surroundings and are starting to pack
on weight. Tench have now started to feed whilst roach to over
a pound have also featured in catches. James Turvey decided to
fish for the eels using small fish baits but he was plagued by a
succession of small pike before a 15lb pike took a liking to his
bait.
The track around Broom Lake remains closed as a few small areas
remain damaged and/or waterlogged. A contractor has been
engaged to carry out the repairs but they are unable to carry out
the work for several weeks. The carp fishing has proved
unpredictable but fish have become more active and visible in the
upper layers on warmer days. Jason Burgoyne had been
struggling to catch recently but during a recent mid week session
tempted a leather carp of 15lb and a similar sized common.
SDAA membership cards for the 2016/17 season are currently being
printed and will be available from local outlets from early May.
Membership will be valid from date of purchase through to 15th June
2017. All prices will be the same as last season. Full details about
membership, night permits and application forms will appear on the
membership section of the SDAA website towards the end of April.

Week ending 10th April 2016

Despite the
changeable weather conditions Shefford & District AA members
have been enjoying some excellent catches during the last week.
The Airman remains the venue on form with several species
showing in good numbers. Several anglers have been targeting
the catfish and Philip White followed up his success from the
previous weekend with another specimen of 33lb, whilst John Dickman
managed the biggest catfish reported so far in 2016 with a 52lb 6oz
specimen. Carp have also been on the feed with Steve Braham
landing a 26lb 6oz mirror carp plus commons of 14lb 8oz and 12lb
during an overnight session, whilst Darren Brown managed an 18lb 2oz
common carp. Edd Allen and his young son Dexter enjoyed some
excellent roach fishing with several fish well over the pound mark
caught on sweetcorn, with the best roach weighing 1lb 14oz.

Week ending 3rd April 2016

The Shefford & District AA AGM included
several new faces amongst the members attending the meeting.
Members were informed that membership numbers and the club’s
finances were both in good shape. Consequently there will be
no increase in membership subscriptions with membership books for
the 2016/17 season available from early May. The club is
looking for more members to volunteer to help running the club as
committee members, bailiffs and work party attendees. Richard
Knight was awarded the Centenary Cup for his major contributions
over many years as Head Bailiff, an active member of the committee
and his commitment to work parties. Trophies for the specimen
fish were presented by club President John Leath, with Carl
Nancarrow securing the Tookey Trophy for the best overall specimen
for his 2lb 12oz roach. John Wigg was the winner of the
monthly match series trophy and Bryan Lancaster winner of the pike
series shield.
The catfish have continued feeding at The Airman with Philip White
landing two specimens of 43lb 8oz and 35lb over the weekend, whilst
Darren Brown managed a 12lb catfish during a short day session.
Steve Braham reported landing mirror carp of 24lb 3oz and 20lb 6oz.
Edd Allen opted to try out his new rod fishing maggot feeder using a
size 18 hook and managed a good net of roach to the pound mark, plus
a bonus perch of 1lb 15oz and a decent pike.
The silver fish at Broom Lake have come back on the feed with John
Wigg landing a good net of 28 roach and a bonus 6lb bream.

Week ending 27th March 2016

Strong winds and heavy rain kept many
Shefford & District AA members away from the lakes over the bank
holiday weekend. However, a sure indication that we are in
spring has been the first signs of catfish feeding at The Airman.
Martin Sharpe set a new personal best with a 45lb 12oz catfish,
whilst Dave Hedges landed a 21lb catfish and Mark Norman a ‘mid-20’.
Members are reminded that to safeguard catfish the use of double
hooks, treble hooks or uncoated wire traces is banned at The Airman
between 1st April - 31st October. To safeguard both pike and
catfish, a coated wire hooklink material (e.g. Catfish Pro Pikesafe
or AFW Surflon Micro Supreme) must be used by catfish anglers when
using fish live or deadbaits.

Anglers heading for Willington Lake should remain wary of the
potential of the adjacent river to flood several days after heavy
rain has fallen further upstream. Members should avoid parking
near the kissing gate where the ground remains very soft.

Weekending 20th March 2016

A final reminder that the Shefford &
District AA AGM is being held on Wednesday 30th March 2016 at
Shefford Town Memorial Hall. All members are encouraged to
attend the to hear about the latest news and future developments of
the club. Entry and voting will be by membership card only.
The meeting starts at 8.00pm with a licensed bar open from 7.30pm.
Catch reports have been thin on the ground this week. Despite
the clear water at The Airman Glenn Mills managed to tempt four carp
to 20lb fishing just a rod length out. Roach continue to be
caught with many anglers reporting fish over the pound mark with a
few specimens breaking the 2lb barrier, although feeding spells are
often relatively brief.
The club is looking for a supply of wood chippings to use in swims
at The Airman and Broom Lake. Please contact a member of the
committee if you know anyone who can supply wood chippings on a
regular basis.

Week ending 13th March 2016

With many Shefford & District AA members
hoping to fish the rivers before the close of the river season,
torrential midweek rain meant the river Ouse was flooded right up to
14th March whilst venues on the Ivel did recover just in time for
the last few days of the season. James Turvey fished the Ouse
at Pavenham prior to the flooding and was rewarded with a superb
chub of 6lb 12oz, which beat his previous PB by 10oz. David
Hawkes chose the Stanford Canal for the last day of the river season
and managed just one chub on his second cast followed by several
hours of inactivity. David walked back along Broom River where
Mick Burr had managed a 2lb 13oz perch and John Dickman a chub
around 5lb, with John adding he had landed a 15lb pike two days
before that had taken his meat bait intended for chub. Before
the midweek rain Mick Burr had managed a couple of short trips to
Broom River and landed a perch of 3lb 5oz and a couple of chub to
5lb.
With the Ouse in flood water levels at Willington Lake quickly rose
with the river briefly joined to the lake over the weekend.
Assuming the river now remains within its banks it will take a week
or so for the lake to drop back to normal levels and members should
be careful not to park where the ground is very soft by the kissing
gate. Another consequence of all the recent flooding in the
Ouse and Nene valleys has been a sudden increase in the number of
cormorants foraging the lakes. Members are asked to try and
scare any feeding cormorants off club waters to protect the fish
stocks. Simply clapping or waving your arms in the air is
often enough to persuade the cormorants to move on.
John Wigg had a sudden change of fortune at Broom Lake where he has
been struggling to catch silver fish in recent visits. John
was the only angler targeting the silver fish and he put together a
good net of roach. Meanwhile Richie Brown managed three common
carp during his weekend session with fish of 21lb 2oz, 14lb 4oz and
12lb 10oz with all his fish landed during the hours of darkness.
There have been relatively few reports from The Airman but Gary
Pitman did recently land a 20lb mirror carp.
The Shefford & District AA AGM is being held on Wednesday 30th March
2016 at Shefford Town Memorial Hall. All members are
encouraged to attend the to hear about the latest news and future
developments of the club. Entry and voting will be by membership
card only.

Week ending 6th March

Mother’s Day meant fewer Shefford & District
AA members fishing on Sunday, but it also saw the pike series draw
to a dramatic conclusion. The final pike match was fished at
Willington Lake and leading into the match James Turvey was just
ahead of Bryan Lancaster on points. These two anglers were the
only anglers to catch in the latest match with James landing a 7lb
8oz pike that secured second place and two series points.
However, Bryan managed to land two pike of 6lb 6oz and 2lb 14oz to
edge ahead of James, with another pike of 5lb 14oz caught just five
minutes before the final whistle boosting Bryan’s winning weight to
15lb 2oz and three series points. This result meant James and
Bryan were tied on nine points each, so the series winner had to be
decided on overall weight across the series. Bryan’s
pike in the dying minutes of the match proved to be the winning
fish, lifting his series total to 73lb 4oz just ahead of James on
69lb 12oz. The pike series has seem some excellent catches
with Dave Baker landing the biggest pike of the series at 12lb 15oz,
as well as recording the best winning weight of 52lb and biggest
aggregate weight of 83lb 12oz, finishing in third place overall with
5 points.
Members are reminded that the rivers will be closed to fishing from
15th March to 15th June inclusive, so there are just a few days left
to wet a line on flowing water. The closing date for specimen
fish claims is 16th March with the specimen fish and match trophies
being presented at the Shefford & District AA AGM being held on
Wednesday 30th March 2016.

Week ending 28th Feb 2016

Overnight frosts and a switch to a cold
easterly wind saw fewer Shefford & District AA venturing onto the
fisheries, but several anglers who braved the elements were rewarded
for their efforts. The pike at Willington Lake were back on
the feed this week, with several anglers enjoying multiple captures
albeit with most of the pike generally on the small side.
Hopefully the pike will still be active for the final round of the
pike series being fished at Willington Lake on Sunday 6th March
(further details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
The final round of the monthly match series was held at The Airman
and despite the venue producing some excellent bags of roach in
recent weeks the turnout was poor with only three entrants.
John Wigg had already secured enough points to be the overall winner
of the match series and John started to catch from the start putting
together a respectable mixed net for 5lb 5oz. Meanwhile
Malcolm Gibbs sat without a bite for several hours, but knowing the
bigger roach often only feed for short spells. Malcolm had his
first bite at 2pm and in the last hour caught several good roach for
a top weight of 5lb 14.5oz. Nigel Gilbert’s first and only
bite came just before the whistle resulting in a 6oz roach.
Members fishing Broom Lake will find that the overhanging foliage
has been heavily reduced on two of the islands. Worryingly
numerous amounts of leads, hooks, line and other tackle items were
recovered from the islands, many of which were capable of snagging
fish or other wildlife. Most of this tackle was relatively new
as the islands had been cleared of tackle last November. All modern
reels have line clips that can be used to avoid overcastting onto
the islands. Several carp were caught from the lake over the
weekend, with Jason Burgoyne landing his first carp of 2016 in the
shape of a common carp just under the 20lb mark.
The closing date for specimen fish claims is 16th March with the
specimen fish and match trophies being presented at the Shefford &
District AA AGM being held on Wednesday 30th March 2016.

Week ending 21st Feb 2016

The changeable conditions saw ice
forming on some Shefford & District AA waters during overnight
frosts with air temperatures in mid-teens the next day, which
appeared to have had a negative impact on catches. The pike at
Willington Lake were few and far between this week, not helped when
strong winds whipped up waves on the exposed areas of the lake.
Anglers fishing in the lee of the island found some shelter where
small baits were eagerly accepted by small roach that inevitably
attracted the attention of the pike. This venue hosts the
final round of the pike series on Sunday 6th March (further details
available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
The final round of the monthly match series will be held at The
Airman on Sunday 28th February where large roach continue to be
caught. Broom Lake has been a struggle in recent weeks for
those targeting the silver fish, but Hayden Coplestone managed three
mid-teen carp during a midweek overnight session. Tree
surgeons will be reducing the amount of overhanging foliage on two
of the islands at Broom Lake on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th
February, and swims 35-42 and 1-17 will be closed during this
maintenance work.
The rivers have also been in a fickle mood with the Great Ouse
running high and coloured for most of the week despite little recent
rainfall. The club’s stretches of the Ivel have also seen many
anglers struggling to locate feeding fish but Mick Burr managed to
add yet another perch over the 4lb mark to his impressive list of
specimens, albeit only half an ounce over 4lb. Mick also added
perch of 2lb and 12oz during an afternoon session.
Members in the Luton area should note that our outlet Shaden has
recently moved to 325 Hitchin Road, Luton, LU2 7SW (www.shaden-fishing.com)
The Shefford & District AA AGM will be held on Wednesday 30th March
2016. A final reminder that nomination for committee and
officer positions must be received by 29th February and seconded by
another member. Members must also advise the Club Secretary in
writing of any business to be moved at the AGM before 29th February.

Week ending 14th Feb 2016

Despite the changeable weather there
have been some excellent catches from Shefford & District AA
waters with pike and roach being the most reliable species on the
stillwaters. Pike fed well during the week at Willington Lake
with several anglers enjoying multiple captures. John Wigg
soon had plenty of small roach feeding on pole fished maggot, with a
switch to caster as bait reducing the number of bites but resulting
in a much better stamp of roach. Odd bream were also showing
to ledger tactics. Saturday saw the five entrants enduring a
cold easterly wind that also carried drizzle for much of the day.
However, this did not stop the pike from feeding with James Turvey
landing 6 pike to 7lb 11oz for a total weight of 32lb 1oz to win the
match. Only 5oz behind the winner, Dave Baker also landed 6
pike for a total weight of 31lb 12oz including a pike of 12lb 15oz,
which is the biggest caught during the series so far. Bryan
Lancaster was third with two pike of 8lb 1oz and 7lb 3oz for a total
of 15lb 4oz, ahead of Tony Archer with a single pike of 7lb 12 oz.
The same venue hosts the final round of the pike series on Sunday
6th March with James (7 points), Bryan (6 points) and (Dave 5
points) all still in the running as overall series winner (further
details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
The roach have been grabbing the headlines at The Airman with
several anglers topping the magic 2lb barrier in recent weeks, but
with the big roach usually only feeding for brief periods during low
light conditions. Life member Pete Allen managed a roach of
2lb 5oz on his latest trip to the venue, but his previous trip
produced an outstanding net of 18 quality roach. Only one
roach was below the pound mark with eleven roach weighing over 1lb
8oz. Whilst many anglers have been adopting scaled down carp
tactics to tempt the larger roach, Pete has stuck to more
traditional roach tackle and red maggots as bait. The final
round of the monthly match series will be held at The Airman on
Sunday 28th February.
Tree surgeons will be reducing the amount of overhanging foliage on
two of the islands at Broom Lake in the next few weeks.
The work has been provisionally scheduled for Friday 26th and
Saturday 27th February and notices will be posted to highlight the
swims that will be closed during this maintenance work.
The Shefford & District AA AGM will be held on Wednesday 30th March
2016. There are vacancies for both committee and officer
positions for any member wanting to take an active role in managing
the club, with committee meetings taking place on the second Tuesday
evening of each month. Nomination for these positions must be
received by 29th February and seconded by another member.
Members must also advise the Club Secretary in writing of any
business to be moved at the AGM before 29th February.

Week ending 7th Feb 2016

All members are encouraged to attend the
Shefford & District AA AGM will be held on Wednesday 30th March 2016
where members will be informed of the latest news and future
developments of the club. All cups and trophies need to be
returned by 20th February and the deadline for specimen fish claims
is 16th March. Members must advise the Club Secretary in
writing of any business to be moved at the AGM before 29th February,
which is also the closing date for nominations for committee and
officer positions. There are several vacancies on the
committee for anyone wanting to take an active role in managing the
club, with committee meetings taking place on the second Tuesday of
each month.
Blustery conditions hampered bait presentation at Willington Lake
but the pike were on the feed with one angler landing three good
pike from the same swim during a morning session on float fished
deadbaits, and missing another three takes. The venue hosts
the next round of the pike series on Saturday 13th February (further
details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
Paul Burton started his session on an exposed swim at Broom Lake,
but the wet and windy conditions prompted a move to a more sheltered
swim that resulted in a 15lb 7oz common carp.

Week ending 31st Jan 2016

The weather has again impacted on
Shefford & District AA catches, with many members preferring to stay
at home rather than venture out during the very strong winds.
Although most of Willington Lake was often windswept several anglers
managed to locate fish in some of the more sheltered areas.
The best pike of the week was a fish of 14lb 2oz fish reported by
Martin Sharpe, whilst most anglers had to be content with single
figure pike including young Dexter Allen. Silver fish
continued to feed although pole fishing often proved a challenge
during the strongest winds. The venue will host the next round
of the pike series on Saturday 13th February (further details
available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
There were relatively few report from The Airman but Glenn Mills
managed to finally tempt a 19lb mirror carp to take his bait as the
light began to fade after watching it feeding on free offerings of
sweetcorn during the day.
Regulars at Broom Lake had reported the silver fish had become very
finicky feeders during the last week or so and this proved to be the
case in the latest monthly match. Malcolm Gibbs only required
2lb 7oz to secure the winners spot whilst John Wigg was second with
1lb 9oz and Nigel Gilbert third with a mere 2oz.

Week ending 24th Jan 2016

The rapidly fluctuating temperatures
during the week had a negative impact on catches on most Shefford &
District AA waters. The exception being The Airman where the
deep water helps to keep water temperatures fairly constant.
Carp to over 20lb were being caught at the beginning of the week
when most other lakes were frozen over and a 20lb catfish was caught
towards the end of the week as air temperatures rose. Anglers
targeting the silver fish have been enjoying mixed bags of roach,
perch and bream. The ten volunteers who attend the work party
on Saturday deserve a special mention as they managed to repair the
front of the Mudflats and replace the broken steps on several other
swims. Vegetation was cut back from around the footpath and
several swims, and several bags of litter were collected from around
the lake.
Competitors for the latest pike match held at Broom Lake were
greeted by seemingly good conditions, but the match proved to be a
struggle with a small 3lb 2oz pike landed by junior member Alfie
Archer being the only fish caught. The venue will host the
next monthly match on Sunday 31st January (further details available
from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637).

Week ending 17th Jan 2016

No fishing report this week, but please
take note of the following dates:
Saturday 23rd January – Work Party at The Airman from 9am to 4pm all
volunteers welcome (aim to remove over hanging branches from the
swims & pathway, litter pick, repair the front to the Mudflats)
Sunday 24th January – Pike match Broom Lake (further details
available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819)
Sunday 31st January – Monthly match Broom Lake (further details
available from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637)

Week ending 10th Jan 2016

With most river venues unfishable due to
recent heavy rain, Shefford & District AA members were limited to
stillwater venues during the last week. Pike continue to be
reliable feeders at Willington Lake with fish to 15lb featuring in
catches. The silver fish are shoaled up in some areas of
the lake and John Wigg soon had the fish feeding on his favoured
pole tactics, putting together a good mixed bag of mainly roach plus
the odd skimmer bream. John’s main problem was trying to avoid
the hoards of bleak that intercept the baited hook dropping through
the upper layers before it has chance to get to the bottom
where the better quality fish can be found.
John Wigg has also enjoyed some good bags of silver fish at Broom
Lake. Small roach are shoaled up in their usual winter
quarters with the pike in close attendance. However, it is
worth exploring other areas of the lake that have been producing
some good nets of quality roach and skimmer bream. Broom Lake
will host the next leg of the pike series on Sunday 24th January
(further details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
The venue will then host the next monthly match on Sunday 31st
January (further details available from Nigel Gilbert 07467
171637).
A number of work parties will be held over the coming months to
maintain the fisheries and any volunteers wanting to help out will
be welcome to attend. Members should keep an eye out for
notices as some work parties will require fisheries to be closed
whilst the work is carried out. With the ground now saturated
members should be wary of slippery banks and the potential for the
rivers to rapidly rise and flood the surrounding land and nearby
lakes.

Week ending 3rd Jan 2016

Several Shefford & District AA members
took the opportunity to spend some time fishing over the extended
holiday period and once again The Airman proved its credentials as a
reliable winter stillwater venue with a string of good specimens
reported. Darren Seeney started his end of year session
targeting the carp under very windy conditions and was delighted
when he landed a 28lb mirror carp that was in excellent condition.
Darren’s bait was then picked up by a 2lb 4oz roach, which was a new
PB for Darren and prompted a change in tactics. Darren scaled
down his tackle to specifically target the roach and used 10mm
bloodworm boilies as bait that resulted in another four specimen
roach all over the magical 2lb mark gracing his net. Five 2lb
roach in a single session is a tremendous achievement for any venue
in the UK, especially as Darren also managed the 28lb carp at the
start of his session. Other anglers also enjoyed action from
the carp with some managing several fish in a session to just over
20lb. Lee Gray decided to target the perch and managed a few
small fish before something much larger picked up his bait.
Lee skilfully managed to land the fish that surprisingly turned out
to be a large catfish and the first catfish reported in 2016.
The fish bottomed out Lee’s 33lb scales and photos suggest it was
probably approaching the 40lb mark.
Pike continued to feed at Willington Lake with the biggest reported
a 15lb pike caught by Stephen Burbidge on a deadbait. However,
the biggest smile went to five year old Aiden Graham who has been
accompanying his father and was delighted to land his first ever
pike on New Year’s day.
Broom Lake will host the next leg of the pike series on Sunday 24th
January (further details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810
454819). The venue will then host the next monthly match on
Sunday 31st January (further details available from Nigel Gilbert
07467 171637).
Kevin Williams once again fished the Lammas Meadow section of the
Ouse at St Neots and his feeder tactics accounted for four good
bream along with a few roach and perch.
‘Half year’ Shefford & District AA books are available from our
usual outlets and remain valid through to 15th June 2016 (prices:
Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors £10). Please
note that night fishing at The Airman, Broom Lake and Willington
Lake requires optional Night Permits (there is no part year discount
on these Night Permits).

Week ending 27th Dec 2015

A few Shefford & District AA members
managed to get out on the banks over the festive period and found
the mild conditions were keeping the fish on the feed. The
best catch reported was a haul of five pike landed during a morning
session at Willington Lake by Bryan Lancaster with his best pike
weighing 13lb 5oz. The previous day the venue hosted the
latest round of the match series that saw a disappointing turnout of
only three anglers with the match fished in almost continuous rain.
Johnn Wigg won the match with a 6lb 12oz mixed net of roach, skimmer
bream, perch and bleak with Malcolm Gibbs taking second with a
similar mixed bag of fish weighing 5lb 12oz. John Wigg has
already secured top spot for the overall match series with two
matches still left to be fished.
Venue regular Andy Richwood has been catching carp at Broom Lake
consistently through the last few months with the key to his success
being location and little or no free offerings. Dave Albon
joined Andy on a recent trip and presented a small pineapple pop-up
boilie in the hope of tempting a carp. Dave struck at a single
beep on his alarm and found himself connected to a hard fighting
pike of 16lb 12oz that was in excellent condition.

As reported last week, Shefford & District AA Director and Life
Member Alan Thomas died suddenly on Sunday 20th December aged 68.
Alan’s funeral service will held be at Bedford Crematorium at 2.30pm
on Friday 8th January 2016. Only family flowers please, but
donations can be made to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute
(Biggleswade Branch).

Week ending 20th Dec 2015

It was with great sadness that we heard
Shefford & District AA Director and Life Member Alan Thomas had died
suddenly on Sunday 20th December aged 68. Alan was a true
stalwart of the club having held a variety of officer positions as
well as being both a Life Member and Director. He was always
willing to devote time to promoting the club and to play an active
role in maintaining the fisheries. Alan was passionate about
angling and he will be greatly missed by all those who knew him.
The mild conditions have continued to produce some excellent catches
with The Airman in excellent form. The pike have been very
active resulting in the roach being tightly shoaled. Some pegs have
produced an abundance of smaller roach to both float and feeder
tactics whilst some anglers have also enjoyed multiple pike catches.
Steven Horncastle had an epic battle with a large predator that was
safely netted resulting in a personal best pike at 25lb 15oz.
Peter Rose adopted a roving approach to locate the fish and his
third swim produced a run on a deadbait that resulted in a new PB
pike of exactly 26lb. Kevin Wilkins landed a 5lb 5oz bream,
3lb 15oz tench and a brace of 1lb 13oz roach, whilst his fishing
companion James Turvey managed two perch of 1lb 7oz and 2lb2oz and
several roach to 15oz, as well as an 11lb 15oz pike. Simon
Locke also reported a pike of 12lb 6oz with other pike anglers
landing up to four fish in a session once the feeding fish have been
located.
The mild weather has seen tench feeding at Willington Lake with one
angler landing three during the night on baits intended for the
carp, whilst silver fish continue to be caught on float tactics.
Willington Lake hosts the next monthly match on Sunday 27th December
(further details available from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637).
Kevin Williams returned to the Lammas Meadow section of the Ouse at
St Neots and again found the roach (rather than the bream) on the
feed and ended up with an excellent net of redfins on feeder
tactics.

Week ending 13th Dec 2015

The mild but largely overcast conditions
have continued to produce some good catches across Shefford &
District AA waters. The latest round in the pike series was
fished at Willington Lake and attended by eight hardy anglers.
Although conditions were somewhat unpleasant for the anglers
with rain and drizzle persisting all day, the light easterly
breeze combined with low pressure and low light levels raised
pre-match expectations that the pike fishing would be good. In
the event the results were excellent with five of the eight
competitors catching pike for a total weight of 105lb 8oz.
Craig Lancaster securing first place with 7 pike to 8lb 8oz
for a total weight of 46lb. Second place was taken by Bryan
Lancaster with 3 fish weighing 7lb 11oz, 8lb 14oz and 9lb 2oz
giving a total weight of 25lb 11oz whilst John Dickman came third
with pike of 9lb 8oz and 7lb 12oz for a total weight of 17lb
4oz. James Turvey caught pike of 4lb 5oz and 4lb 3oz and Alfie
Archer caught one pike of 8lb 1oz. Earlier in the week Colin
Smith swapped his pike gear for a waggler rod and managed a good
mixed bag of silver fish on maggot made up predominantly of roach to
7oz plus skimmer bream, roach/bream hybrids, perch and bleak.
Alan Thomas managed two pike on deadbaits but was unable to attract
any interest whilst lure fishing. Willington Lake hosts the
next monthly match on Sunday 27th December (further details
available from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637).
Carp are still being caught at The Airman and once again some of the
fish stocked last winter have featured in catches and are showing
good growth rates. We urge members to weigh and photograph any
carp that look like a recent stockie at all our lakes, so that we
can monitor their progress and this will help define our future
stocking policy.
Kevin Williams fished feeder tactics on the Lammas Meadow section of
the Ouse at St Neots hoping to track down one of the huge bream
shoals. Kevin was pleasantly surprised to find the roach were
eager to feed and they formed the bulk of his catch along with three
small bream around the 3lb mark and an 8oz perch. The bulk of
his catch came during the morning with bites coming to an abrupt
halt at 1pm.

Week ending 6th Dec 2015

The mild conditions and lack of frosts
have proved very productive for several Shefford & District AA
members on both stillwater and river venues. James Turvey
managed two sessions at The Airman that resulted in three tench to
6lb and numerous roach to just under a pound, plus a perch of 1lb
8oz. James also set one rod up for predators and managed to
land four good pike between 8 and 14lb. Dave Baker landed a
21lbs 10oz common carp and lost another during a short day session
using a squid ‘wafter’ hookbait fished over a small scattering of
boilies.
Colin Smith spent his first pike fishing trip of the season at
Willington Lake and managed to tempt four pike to 13lb 14oz.
Hopefully the venue’s pike will oblige during the next leg of the
pike series to be fished on Sunday 13th December (further details
available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
Reece Newton tackled Broom River with lamprey bait fished on a
paternoster rig to tempt three double figure pike. A reminder
that the Perchfishers will be enjoying a ‘fish-in’ in pursuit of the
specimen perch along Broom River and the Stanford Canal on Saturday
12th December as guests of the club, but the venues remain open to
members. Kevin Williams fished the Ouse at Pavenham using a
simple maggot feeder rig and bronze maggots and put together an
excellent bag of silver fish weighing 22lb 8oz, mainly comprising of
small chub to 8oz plus three good roach to 1lb 8oz.

Week ending 29th Nov 2015

The mild conditions have seen many species continuing to feed on
Shefford & District AA waters, but anglers have had to contend with
heavy rain and strong winds. Away from the banks the SDAA
committee are delighted to announce that Brian Barrett has been
awarded Life Membership of the club in recognition of his many years
of dedicated bailiffing and maintenance work at Willington.
Brian is in the process of relocating to Wales, but hopes to wet a
line at Willington when visiting the area in future years.
Several carp have been caught from The Airman including some smaller
carp around the 12lb mark that are fish stocked in recent years,
which have adapted well to their new surroundings. The large
roach are currently proving very elusive with the shoals of smaller
roach also tightly packed but somewhat reluctant to feed. This
has allowed the bream shoals to settle in on beds of bait and
feature more prominently in catches. This was illustrated in
the latest match fished at The Airman by seven hardy souls who
braved the strong winds. Match Secretary Nigel Gilbert had sat
without a bite for several hours but kept bait steadily going into
his swim using a groundbait feeder. His first bite around
12.30 resulted in a good bream and he then caught steadily
throughout the afternoon to become the runaway winner of the match
with 33lb 11oz of bream, comprising of six good bream to 6lb 10oz
and a few smaller skimmers. Alec Davies managed to locate 4lb
5oz of roach for second place, whilst Kevin Donovan secured second
place with a single perch of exactly two pounds. Two other
anglers managed just over a pound of roach, whilst the other
two competitors sat without a single bite during the whole match.
Elsewhere pike have been on the feed with Liam Prout landing a 16lb
6oz pike from Broom Lake. Steven Bell caught three pike whilst
spinning at Willington Lake, but the best pike of the day was caught
by his 11 year old son Mickey Bell that probably weighed over 10lb,
but was returned unweighed as their set of scales were playing up.
Willington Lake will host the next leg of the pike series on Sunday
13th December (further details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810
454819).
Members of the Perchfishers will be enjoying a ‘fish-in’ in pursuit
of the specimen perch along Broom River and the Stanford Canal on
Saturday 12th December as guests of the club. Both venues will
remain open to members on the day.
‘Half year’ Shefford & District AA books are available from our
usual outlets and remain valid through to 15th June 2016 (prices:
Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors £10). Please
note that night fishing at The Airman, Broom Lake and Willington
Lake requires optional Night Permits (there is no part year discount
on these Night Permits).

Week ending 22nd Nov 2015

Wet and windy conditions followed by a
dusting of snow and plummeting temperatures deterred many Shefford
& District AA members from venturing outside. John Dickman
managed a late season catfish of 46lb 10oz from The Airman on a
bunch of worms and also landed a good pike of 18lb tempted by a
deadbait. The latest round in the pike series saw the nine
hardy anglers confronted by early snow and sleet, with a very strong
cold north wind that persisted all day. First place was taken
by Bryan Lancaster with pike of 4lb 8oz and 12lb 11oz giving a total
weight of 17lb 3oz. James Turvey landed pike of 4lb 2oz and
7lb 5oz for a total weight of 11lb 7oz to secure second place,
whilst the rest of the competitors failed to catch. Roach and
skimmer bream have been falling to feeder tactics, but the shoals
appear very localised. A group of volunteers applied three
tonnes of Siltex to The Airman and the water may appear ‘milky’ for
a few days before it all settles out. The venue hosts the next
monthly match on Sunday 29th November with pegs 2-12 reserved for
the match (further details available from Nigel Gilbert 07467
171637).
A reminder that a work party is being held at 9am on Saturday 28th
November at Broom Lake to deal with overhanging and fallen trees.
Pegs 1-5 and 27-42 will remain open, although pegs 13-23 will be
open there could be some disturbance. Access to and from the
lake will also be temporarily blocked whilst a ‘hung up’ branch is
dealt with along the track. All volunteers are welcome.
Frosts and heavier flows are helping to clear the weed from the
rivers making them easier to fish. Broom River has been
producing roach when the river is carrying extra colour and one
member reportedly managed to land a 15lb carp on a stick float set
up whilst fishing for roach. David Hawkes went in search of
the perch and managed a good perch of 2lb 10oz on lobworm with
another around the pound mark on maggot.
‘Half year’ Shefford & District AA books are available from our
usual outlets and are valid from 1st December 2015 through to 15th
June 2016 (prices: Full £40, Concessions £30, Partners £25, Juniors
£10). Please note that night fishing at The Airman, Broom Lake
and Willington Lake requires optional Night Permits (there is no
part year discount on these Night Permits).

Week ending 15th Nov 2015

No catch reports were received this week. Unacceptable
levels of litter are still being left by anglers across SDAA
fisheries, with some individuals still thinking it is acceptable to
foul the banks. Anyone caught leaving litter or fouling the
banks can expect a ban. Recent work parties have also
recovered a number of poorly constructed rigs where the lead is
unable to be released in the event of a breakage. Some rigs
also incorporated lead core, which is banned on all SDAA waters.
Please take note of the following dates:
The Airman
Saturday 21st November – closed for pike match (further details
available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
Monday 23rd November - closed for Siltex to be applied to the lake
and all volunteers are welcome.
Sunday 29th November – monthly match will use pegs 2-12 inclusive
(further details available from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637).
Broom Lake
Saturday 28th November – Work Party to assist tree surgeon.
Pegs 1-5 and 27-42 will remain open, pegs 13-23 will be open but
there could be some disturbance. Access to and from the lake
will also be temporarily blocked whilst a ‘hung up’ branch is dealt
with along the track. All volunteers are welcome.
‘Half year’ SDAA books will soon be available from our usual
outlets. They will be valid from 1st December 2015 through to 15th
June 2016 (prices: Full £40, Concessions £30, Spouses £25, Juniors
£10). Please note that night fishing at The Airman, Broom Lake
and Willington Lake requires optional Night Permits (there is no
part year discount on these Night Permits).

Week ending 8th Nov 2015

The wet conditions appear to have put off
many Shefford & District AA members from venturing out this week.
The roach are currently tightly shoaled up at The Airman with some
anglers struggling for a bite, whilst others enjoy reasonable
catches although the large roach are not showing at the moment. This
has also resulted in the pike becoming very localised, so it is best
to adopt a mobile approach to locate the fish. The odd decent
perch continue to show up in catches with Steve Braham managing one
of 2lb 8oz. Carp continue to be caught with Glenn Mills
recently landing mirrors of 21lb 14oz and 17lb. The Airman
will host the next leg of the pike series on Saturday 21st November
(further details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
The Airman will be closed on Monday 23rd November for Siltex to be
applied to the lake and all volunteers are welcome. The venue
will then host the next monthly match on Sunday 29th November
(further details available from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637).
The silver fish are beginning to shoal up at Broom Lake as they move
to their usual winter haunts, with the pike in close proximity.
Despite the mild weather the carp have not been feeding heavily with
only the odd double figure carp reported. The track around the
lake will now remain closed over the winter to prevent further
damage. Siltex has been applied to the lake and it might
retain a milky appearance for a few days. Whilst the boat was
on the water the opportunity was taken to remove as much line, leads
and rigs as possible that were hanging from the island trees.

Week ending 1st Nov 2015

Pike fishing has stolen the headlines on
Shefford & District AA waters this week. John Dickman
reported the biggest pike caught so far this season with a pike of
25lb 2oz from The Airman. This venue then hosted the latest
round of the pike series attended by nine anglers. Dave Baker
was the runaway winner with an excellent catch of six pike for a
total of 52lb, topped by fish of 12lb 8oz and 11lb 8oz. Second
place went to James Turvey with 3 pike to 5lb 12oz for 10lb 4oz,
whilst the rest of the field failed to catch. The Airman will
host the next leg of the pike series on Saturday 21st November
(further details available from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819).
The Airman will be closed on Monday 23rd November for Siltex to be
applied to the lake and all volunteers are welcome. The venue
will then host the next monthly match on Sunday 29th November
(further details available from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637).
The pike at Willington Lake have also been on the feed with Edd
Allen and his young son Dexter enjoying a six fish haul. After
two fruitless hours fishing their first swim they spotted roach
topping in a nearby swim, which prompted a move. During the
next three hours young Dexter managed to land four pike on a roving
float, whilst dad Edd landed two on a float paternoster rig.
Good bags of silver fish have continued to be taken on Broom Lake
with skimmers falling to feeder tactics, whilst roach predominate on
the float. Unfortunately the track around the lake is now
closed due to several areas becoming waterlogged. Members
should note that Broom Lake will be closed on Monday 9th and Tuesday
10th November for a work party to apply Siltex to the lake and all
volunteers are welcome.
Following the recent rain the local rivers have started to produce
some decent nets of silver fish, with good bags of roach reported
from Broom River whilst it was carrying extra water and colour.

Week ending 25th Oct 2015

Despite relatively mild conditions
Shefford & District AA waters have remained relatively quiet.
After landing catfish of 43lb and 34lb from The Airman on his
previous visit Richard Knight returned for a midweek session to see
if he could tempt an even bigger specimen. After two nights
without any catfish activity, Richard saw a carp surface in his swim
so immediately cast a bait to the spot. Within 10 minutes his
alarm sounded and a 21lb mirror carp was landed. With the
catfish activity now slowing down, Mark Norman is happy for us to
reveal that he and his wife Janet both landed several catfish over
30lb during their first season with the club, topped by a fish that
broke both Mark’s own UK PB and the club’s catfish record with an
impressive specimen of 60lb 10oz caught during the summer. The
Airman will host the next two legs of the pike series on Sunday 1st
November and Saturday 21st November (further details available from
Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819). The Airman will be closed on
Monday 23rd November for Siltex to be applied to the lake and all
volunteers are welcome. The venue will then host the next
monthly match on Sunday 29th November (further details available
from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637).

The carp have continued to feed at Broom Lake with several carp to
upper doubles reported during the week. The latest monthly
match saw the fish in a finicky mood with several anglers
experiencing delicate bites that proved impossible to hit.
Malcolm Gibbs ran out the winner with a weight of 6lb 6oz of mainly
skimmer bream. John Wigg was second with 4lb 11oz with Neil
Bygrave third weighing in 1lb 11oz. After 5 matches in the
series, John Wigg leads the standings on 20 points, with Neil
Bygrave on 16 points and Malcolm Gibbs 10 points. Broom Lake will
be closed on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th November for a work party
to apply Siltex to the lake and all volunteers are welcome.

Week ending 18th Oct 2015

The next few weeks will be a busy period
for some Shefford & District AA waters with a number of matches and
work parties planned and members should take note of these dates,
and any notices posted at the fisheries. The first pike match
of the season was held at Broom Lake and attended by eight hopeful
participants. However, despite their best efforts the only
pike caught was one of 8lb 5oz landed by Paul Burton. Young
Dexter Allen has only recently started fishing and dug some worms
from his uncle’s garden for bait, which was taken by a late season
tench of 3lb 8oz that Dexter managed to land on a whip. The
next monthly match is being fished at Broom Lake on Sunday 25th
October with pegs 1-5 and 30-42 being used for the match (further
details available from Nigel Gilbert 07467 171637). Broom Lake
will then be closed on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th November for a
work party to apply Siltex to the lake and all volunteers are
welcome.
The Airman will host the next two legs of the pike series on Sunday
1st November and Saturday 21st November (further details available
from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819). The Airman will be closed
on Monday 23rd November for Siltex to be applied to the lake and
again all volunteers are welcome.
Venue bailiff Brian Barrett has reported that a number of carp have
been landed at Willington Lake in recent weeks, but the captors have
been reluctant for the details to be published. The river
behind the lake is also fishing well with good numbers of roach and
small chub being caught.
Odd barbel into double figures continue to be caught from the weir
pool and pegs further downstream at Little Paxton. Plenty of
perch and eels are also being caught. Members should note that
a club key will now be required to gain access to the allotments and
a reminder that whilst within Rowley’s Allotments, vehicles must not
exceed 5mph and parking is only permitted within the gravelled
parking area, located at the end of the third track on the right.

Week ending 11th Oct 2015

Sport was rather patchy across Shefford
& District AA waters but some anglers managed to time their visits
to fit in with fish feeding spells. Venue regulars know that
October is one of the best months for catfish at The Airman as they
feed hard to pack on weight before the onset of winter. Steve
Braham found the fish feeding well at the beginning of the week but
sport tailed off as the weekend approached. Steve managed to
land six catfish with two weighing 45lb each, with another good
catfish of 34lb. Steve also managed to land five mirror carp
to 22lb 9oz. Andrew Bangert managed a 32lb catfish during a
short afternoon session.
Andy Richwood has reported an improvement in his carp catches at
Broom Lake in recent weeks often enjoying multiple catches of double
figure carp, although he does still suffer the occasional blank when
the carp refuse to feed. The biggest carp recorded in recent
weeks was a 24lb common. This venue hosts the first match of
the pike series on Saturday 17th October (further details available
from Bryan Lancaster 07810 454819), followed by the next monthly
match on Sunday 25th October (further details available from Nigel
Gilbert 07467 171637).

Week ending 4th Oct 2015

The calm and sunny conditions coupled
with high pressure were not ideal for Shefford & District AA members
trying to locate carp last week. Most of the carp activity at
Broom Lake took place at night with Nathan Riley managing 3 carp to
upper doubles during an overnight session, whilst Stephen Riley and
Andrew Riley both managed a carp and bream during the same night.
Anglers fishing the pole or waggler have been enjoying some good
bags of roach and skimmer bream. Unfortunately we have
received several complaints about the amount of litter (including
lengths of line) being left around the lake. There is no
excuse for leaving litter of any description at the fisheries and
anyone found doing so will receive a ban.

Mick Burr kicked off his river season with an excellent perch of
exactly 4lb from Broom River and added another good perch of 2lb
12oz.
On the match scene, Shefford & District AA members have been
invited to take part in a match on the ‘canal lake’ on Letchworth
GCAA’s Poppy Hill complex on Sunday 11th October with the draw at
8.30am with fishing from 10am until 3pm (details from Nigel Gilbert
(07467 171637). The pike series will start with the first
match at Broom Lake on Saturday 17th October with further details
available from Bryan Lancaster (07810 454819). The next
monthly match will also be at Broom Lake on Sunday 25th October with
further details available from Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637).

Week ending 27th Sept 2015

With the onset of autumn many of the
larger species will be feeding hard to build up reserves for the
winter and Shefford & District AA members should be making the most
of the next few weeks sport. The catfish at The Airman can be
expected to keep feeding right through October and members are
reminded that to safeguard catfish, use of double hooks, treble
hooks or uncoated wire traces is banned on this venue between 1st
April - 31st October. To safeguard both pike and catfish, a
coated wire hooklink material (e.g. Catfish Pro Pikesafe or AFW
Surflon Micro Supreme) must be used by catfish anglers when using
fish live or deadbaits. Just after the boat being used on the
work party passed through his swim, Paul Williams had a
screaming run and a spirited fight ensued before a 42lb catfish was
safely landed. A quick overnight session produced a 19lb 8oz
mirror carp and a 21lb catfish for Tom Gaby.
Pleasure anglers at Willington Lake have continued to enjoy good
bags of roach and skimmer bream using sweetcorn fished close in,
whilst baits such as maggots and worms have resulted in and endless
procession of small perch. Weights were lower than expected
for the seven anglers taking part in the latest match at the venue
with Neil Bygrave taking top spot with a 5lb 10oz mixed bag of
silver fish taken on the whip and waggler. John Wigg was
second with 4lb 13oz taken on the pole and Dave Baker third with 2lb
5oz 8dr.
The pike series will start with the first match at Broom Lake on
Saturday 17th October with further details available from Bryan
Lancaster (07810 454819). The draw for the match will be held
at 8.15am with fishing from 9am until 5pm, with the lake closed to
members not fishing the match from midnight until 7pm.
Finally, a reminder that from 1st October to 31st March, members
(but not juniors) are permitted to use three rods at The Airman,
Broom Lake and Willington Lake, provided they have the appropriate
number of EA licences and tackle is not cast in such a way as to
interfere with any adjacent swims.

Week endind 20th Sept 2015

Although September is often one of the
most productive months of the year only a few catches have been
reported by Shefford & District AA members. The carp at Broom
Lake remained in a responsive mood with several anglers enjoying
some good catches. Junior member Shane Pepper upped his carp
PB for the third time is as many weeks landing a 22lb 6oz mirror,
which was tempted on a pop-up bait. Several anglers including
Gary Pitman landed mid double common carp, whilst Luke Martin
landed a 14lb 9oz mirror carp.
There will be a work parties at The Airman on Friday 25th September
and Willington Lake on Saturday 26th September and all volunteers
are welcome to attend. At The Airman swims 5-10 will be closed
whilst the reeds are cut back with the aid of a boat, which
will then be used to remove sunken branches and other snags from
other swims around the lake, so anglers fishing may experience some
disturbance. At Willington Lake the plan is to replace the
rotten posts and wire fencing in the water that stop the cattle
wading around the ends of the fences.
The next match on Sunday 27th September will be fished at Willington
Lake with the draw at 8am and fishing from 9am-3pm and further
details can be obtained from Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com).

Week ending 13th Sept 2015

With the water temperatures starting to
fall and the days rapidly shortening the fish on Shefford & District
AA stillwaters have started to feed more consistently as they build
up reserves before the onset of winter. The carp at Broom Lake
have been far more responsive with several anglers enjoying multiple
catches, albeit with catches dominated by the common carp with the
mirror carp proving more elusive. Paul Burton’s last 20 carp
from the venue have all been commons, including the three doubles he
caught last weekend to 17lb 4oz. Darren Brown managed two
commons of 16lb 2oz and 14lb during an overnight session, whilst
junior Shane Pepper upped his PB again with a 19lb 4oz common
tempted on a pop-up bait. The silver fish have also been
feeding well with Alec Davies having a cracking day on the waggler
with a double figure bag of roach on maggot and caster, and a bonus
7lb tench.
Disappointingly there were a number of ‘no shows’ from anglers who
had booked a place in the catfish match held at The Airman, which
left eight angler to contest the match held over two nights.
Martin Sharp had only ever caught one catfish in his life and that
had been accidentally foul hooked, but crucially Martin managed to
land three catfish during the match weighing 25lb, 14lb 6oz and 13lb
8oz for a total of 52lb 14oz to run out the winner.
Second place went to Steve Braham with a single catfish of 34lb,
which was the only other catfish caught with Ed Allen landing two
pike and Paul Williams landing another pike on baits intended for
the catfish. In a desperate attempt to tempt a catfish match
organiser Nigel Gilbert hair rigged a sweet & sour chicken ball left
over from his Chinese meal and tossed his rig out with 90 minutes of
the match remaining and started to pack away his gear. With 15
minutes left to go Nigel’s alarm sounded and a strike was met with
the solid resistance of a large fish that slowly powered away.
After a long fight the fish was finally landed only to find the
catfish had been foul hooked in the pectoral fin so Nigel decided it
could not count in the match, which was a pity because the fish
weighed 42lb 11oz and would have earned second place and would have
also easily smashed Nigel’s PB of 26lb. There will be a work
party at The Airman on Friday 25th September and swims 5-10 will be
closed whilst the reeds are cut back with the aid of a boat.
Whilst the boat is on the water attempts will be made to remove
sunken branches and other snags from other swims around the lake so
anglers fishing may experience some disturbance. Any member
willing to help is welcome to turn up on the day.
The next match on Sunday 27th September will be fished at Willington
Lake with the draw at 8am and fishing from 9am-3pm and further
details can be obtained from Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com).
A work party is being held at the venue on Saturday 26th September
to replace the posts and wire fencing in the water that stop the
cattle wading around the ends of the fences, again all volunteers
are welcome to attend.
Shefford & District AA is looking for volunteers who would like to
give up some of their time to help in the running of the club.
If you want to help in the development of Shefford & District AA
there are a variety of volunteer opportunities ranging from becoming
a committee member, bailiffing our waters or helping to maintain and
improve our fisheries through work parties. If you feel you
have something to offer or would just like to find out more about
volunteering opportunities please contact any of the officers listed
on the front of your membership book.

Week ending 30th August 2015

The unseasonal weather kept many
Shefford & District AA members away from the bank, but the upcoming
autumn months can often prove the most productive period on
stillwaters. The latest match was fished at Willington Lake
under far from ideal conditions but all seven participants caught
with the lowest weight being 5lb 8oz. John Wigg ran out the
winner with one tench and silver fish caught on the pole for 8lb 9oz
8dr just ahead of Neil Bygrave’s 8lb 7oz 8dr net of silver fish
caught on the whip. Cyril Davies opted to fish on the tip and
managed one tench and a few skimmer bream to take third with 7lb
13oz, followed by Alec Davies with 7lb 3oz in fourth. John
Wigg now leads the series with 12 points, Neil Bygrave second on 8
points and Alec Davies third on 5 points.
Please note Broom Lake will be closed from midnight on Friday 4th
September through to 11am on Sunday 6th September for a Memorial
Match in memory of Dean Johnson, which is by invitation only.
There have been some signs of the carp feeding more consistently
with several carp mainly mid doubles being caught, plus a ghost carp
over 20lb was reported. The cold and damp conditions have made
the roach more difficult to tempt and extra care should be taken
when using the track around the lake following the recent rain.
A reminder that the current rod limit at Broom Lake is two rods and
anyone found fishing with three or more rods will be endorsed.
The use of three rods at Broom Lake is only permitted during the
period between 1st October and 31st March.
There have been few reports from The Airman, but Richard Draycott
was delighted to land a 44lb 15oz catfish after a titanic 25 minute
fight. The fish was caught on luncheon meat and it took two
people to lift out of the water, with Richard commenting it was the
biggest fish he had ever seen let alone caught.

Week ending 23rd August 2015

Once again there have been relatively
few catch reports from Shefford & District AA members, but a common
theme has been excellent bags of silver fish from stillwater venues.
Colin Smith returned to The Airman and fished a completely different
area of the lake to his previous visit, but again put together an
excellent bag of roach. Colin fished small pellets using a waggler
and his loose feed soon had the roach lined up and whilst most were
in the 3-5oz bracket, he included several 'netters' to just over the
pound mark for a bag of roach in excess of 20lb. The odd carp to
21lb and catfish have also been reported but the roach have been
providing the most consistent sport from all areas of the lake.
The next match is being held on Sunday 30th August at Willington
Lake with the draw at 8am and fishing from 9am-3pm and further
details can be obtained from Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637 or sdaamatch@gmail.com).
The venue is fishing well for silver fish with several good bags of
quality roach being caught from pegs along the track. Dave Baker
fished a session in the 'Bomb Shelter' peg and managed five tench
over 5lb up to 5lb 12oz and a 19lb 10oz common carp. He then
decided to try a few hours fishing the waggler and was soon catching
quality roach as well as a couple of tench, including a male that
was clearly full of milt suggesting that they were once again
involved in spawning activity. Venue bailiff Brian Barrett had a
true mixed bag of fish landing bream, roach, rudd, tench, perch and
dace mainly caught on sweetcorn. Brian's silver fish ranged in size
up to 8oz and totaled about 15lb plus a 4lb tench, but Brian felt
that he should have doubled his weight having missed numerous bites
before changing to a much larger hook and fishing two grains of
corn. Brian was also troubled by pike and managed to land one jack
of 5lb that snatched a rudd whilst being landed.
During the week the carp at Broom Lake were proving elusive with
only the odd fish being caught, but Andrew Riley caught the carp in
a feeding mood with 8 fish to 18lb 4oz during one morning. Like the
other lakes it is the roach that are the most consistent feeders
with anglers using more selective baits such as sweetcorn or stewed
wheat picking out the larger fish. Tench are still appearing in
catches with the odd smaller fish around the pound mark being
reported, which are probably from the stocking made last winter.
Please note Broom Lake will be closed from midnight on Friday 4th
September through to 11am on Sunday 6th September for a Memorial
Match in memory of Dean Johnson, which is by invitation only.

The EA will be weed cutting from Langford Garden Centre to
Jordans Mill towards the end of this week. They hope to start on
Wednesday and expect to finish on Friday. The start day is a bit
variable as they are currently doing Jordans to Biggleswade, which
is choked with in-stream rushes which take longer to cut

Week ending 16th August 2015

With the holiday season in full swing
there have been plenty of Shefford & District AA members fishing
club venues but very few have reported their catches. Louis
Hart managed three carp from The Airman to 14lb and a specimen 2lb
2oz roach also took a liking to his homemade boilies. Good
nets of roach are being caught from all around the lake on both
feeder tactics or float fished in conjunction with pole or rod and
reel. Colin Smith decided to try fishing small pellets using a
waggler with his loose feed soon attracted the attentions of the
roach and from then on it was a ‘bite a chuck’. Colin failed
to attract any of the bigger roach with all his fish in the 3-5oz
bracket, but with 81 roach caught in just a few hours Colin was
delighted with his 20lb bag of redfins. A few swims away Dean
Carr was enjoying his first success of catching catfish in the UK
and ended his session with 6 catfish topped by an impressive
specimen of 45lb 6oz.
A reminder that the venue for the next match on Sunday 30th August
has been switched to Willington Lake with the draw at 8am and
fishing from 9am-3pm and further details can be obtained from Nigel
Gilbert (07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com).
For those anglers planning to visit the Ivel please be aware that
the EA will be cutting the weed over the next week or so. The
EA weed cutting team will work upstream with the river around Sandy
being completed before moving on to the IPA sections around
Biggleswade. Weed cutting along the SDAA controlled sections
from Langford Garden Centre down to Jordans Mill is planned for next
week, but progress will depend upon the weather and how much weed
they encounter.
Despite the rules printed in membership books and constant reminders
there is still a minority of members who appear to think it is
acceptable to foul the banks of the fisheries and leave litter.
These thoughtless members can expect to be banned if caught.
We would also like to remind members that they need to be in
possession of the appropriate number and type of EA rod licences
when fishing. The EA enforcement officers do visit SDAA and
other local waters and will prosecute those anglers not in
possession of rod licences or breaking EA bylaws. Visit the Angling
Trust website for a list of anglers recently prosecuted by the EA
who have had to pay a total of almost £40k in fines, including
several local anglers.

Week ending 9th August 2015

The settled weather has seen plenty of
Shefford & District AA members on the bank and those anglers
targeting the silver fish have again seen much more consistent
action than those targeting the larger specimens. Barry Cook
managed a couple of mid-double carp during an overnight session at
Broom Lake with most of the carp just cruising around on the surface
during the daytime. However, the previous week Barry managed
eight carp during the day when conditions were overcast and cooler.
Roach and rudd are being caught from most areas of the lake on
waggler and pole tactics with sweetcorn and stewed wheat picking out
the better fish.

Willington Lake is still producing good bags of silver fish from
several areas of the lake with the biggest catches coming to those
who adopt a bold feeding pattern from the start. Nets of roach
in excess of 20lbs are not uncommon with some roach over the pound,
the largest being a 1lb 10oz roach reported by James Turvey, who
also landed a bream of 7lb 10oz. Bleak are usually associated
with rivers but they are still showing in good numbers with James
Turvey weighed one ‘specimen’ at 3oz. With the British record for
bleak standing at only 4oz 9dr it might pay other anglers to weigh
any large bleak they catch. Please note that the venue for the
next match on Sunday 30th August has been switched to Willington
Lake with the draw at 8am and fishing from 9am-3pm and further
details can be obtained from Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com).
Only the odd carp and catfish has been reported from The Airman.
Glenn Mills recently managed a 21lb mirror carp on his first cast
and first trip to the venue. Members targeting the roach have
enjoyed some good catches on pole, waggler and feeder tactics.
Although none of the larger 2lb fish have been reported, good nets
with roach to a pound are common place with some good sized perch
also putting in an appearance. There will be a another work
party at The Airman on Friday 14th August starting at 9.30am to
complete the renovation of swim 18 (Stumps). The work will
involve fitting the last board, back filling and levelling off the
swim.

Week ending 2nd August 2015

With the holiday season in full swing
there have been plenty of Shefford & District AA members on the
bank, but few reports of catches have been received. Although
the carp at Broom Lake were often spotted cruising in the surface
layers, several fish were caught on bottom baits with Dave Clarke
landing two carp to 19lb during a morning session. Dave has
recovered two lots of sinking braid from the same swim both in the
water and around 50 yards long, one still having a lead, lead clip,
hook length and hook attached. Extra care should be taken when
using braid as main line to avoid break offs and rig tubing should
be incorporated to avoid the braid damaging hooked fish.
Sandie Cornell landed a small carp of 3lb 6oz that was returned to
the water without taking a photo, but she later realised that the
small carp was in fact one of the lake’s large crucian carp and a
new PB. On her return visit Sandie landed a succession of
bream before her reel screamed off and she was hooked into something
much more substantial. After a spirited fight the fish was
finally netted and proved to be another PB in the shape of a 18lb
11oz common carp.
Please note that the venue for the next match on Sunday 30th August
has been switched to Willington Lake and contrary to last week’s
report the following match on Sunday 27th September will also be
held at the same venue. The lake is still producing good bags
of silver fish from several areas with roach over the pound mark
appearing in catches as well as plenty of good sized skimmer bream.
There have been a number of anglers targeting the carp but most have
been keeping tight lipped about any captures, apart from Cyril
Davies who reported landing an 18lb common carp.
Anglers targeting the carp and catfish at The Airman have been
struggling with only the odd one or two coming out. Richard Knight
fished a 72h session and had managed only a small 13lb catfish and
5lb bream before a 26lb 8oz mirror carp picked up his bait during
his last night. However, members targeting the roach are
having better luck with a few double figure nets reported from
various swims with sweetcorn often picking out the bigger roach.
Tench are also being caught from several swims around the lake.
There will be a another work party at The Airman on Friday 7th
August to complete the renovation of swim 18 (Stumps), which will
cause some disturbance to anglers fishing nearby and it is hoped the
swim will be reopened late afternoon.

Week ending 26th July 2015

The sudden switch to cooler weather
kept many Shefford & District AA members away from the banks last
weekend, especially during the periods of torrential rain.
Despite the forecast of rain, nine members turned up for the latest
match held at Broom Lake hoping the silver fish would continue to
feed. However, most anglers struggled in the very wet and
windy conditions with weights much lower than anticipated based on
midweek catches. David Batcheldor ran out winner with a weight
of 4lb 1oz; with the other points winners being Lez Reed second with
3lb 6oz, Neil Bygrave third (2lb 12oz), John Wigg fourth (2lb 7oz
8dr) and Malcolm Gibbs fifth (1lb 5oz). Please note that the
venues for the next two matches in this series have been swapped
around with the match on Sunday 30th August now being held at
Willington Lake and the following match on Sunday 27th September at
The Airman.
Despite the cooler conditions The Airman produced a 44lb
catfish for Paul Williams. There will be a work party at The
Airman on Friday 31st July starting around 10am for the first phase
of renovating swim 18 (Stumps), which will cause some disturbance to
anglers fishing nearby . It is hoped the swim will be reopened later
in the afternoon but a second work party will be required to
complete rebuilding the front of the swim in a week or two.
Kevin Wilkins had no action on his tench rods at Willington Lake but
his third rod targeting the carp tempted a lean common carp of 13lb
4oz and one of the recently stocked VS Fisheries mirrors at 11lb
6oz. Fishing companion James Turvey also struggled to get any
action from the tench, suspecting they were preoccupied by another
bout of spawning with a solitary bream being his only fish of the
day.
Reports from the Ouse at Little Paxton have shown several barbel to
double figures being caught in recent weeks. Members should
note that gate at the entrance to the allotments will be fitted with
locks in the next few weeks to improve security, so any member
wanting to access the car park within the allotments will need the
standard SDAA ‘A9’ key once the locks have been fitted.
Members are also reminded not to dig the banks to create or modify
swims. Permission from the EA and the land owner is required
for any alterations to the bank, and recent unauthorised
modifications have created safety and access issues for other
members.

Week ending 19th July 2015

There have been numerous good catches
reported from Shefford & District AA waters this week, with a range
of species caught on a variety of different methods. The
Airman has been the pick of the venues with many species turning up
in catches. The most impressive fish was a beautiful 2lb 12oz
roach caught by Carl Nancarrow using a white chocolate mini boilie
fished just a few rod lengths out. Andrew Wood landed a 44lb
4oz catfish on meat and added two more catfish of 36lb and 11lb
during his session. Junior member Braiden Hart enjoyed a
productive overnight session landing three carp including a 17lb
mirror and 16lb common. Venue regular Phillip White snatched a
short 2 hour visit and fishing with surface baits tempted an 18lb
common and two mid-double mirrors.

Andrew Riley’s midweek trip to Broom Lake resulted in four carp and
two tench, with Andrew’s biggest carp being a 16lb 13oz common taken
off the surface. Gary Barnes fished a weekend session
and amassed 7 bream to 8lb 8oz, 5 carp topped by a 19lb mirror and a
‘keep net full’ of roach, rudd and perch. A match is being
held at Broom Lake this Sunday the 26th July with the draw at 8am
and fishing from 9am-3pm and further details can be obtained from
Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com). The match will use pegs 1-5 & 30-42
and these pegs must be vacated by midnight prior to the match,
whilst pegs 6-29 remain open to members.

The carp at Willington Lake are spending most of their time in the
most heavily weeded areas of the lake apparently happy to feed on
the abundant natural food. However, tench and bream continue
to feature in catches. Venue bailiff Brian Barrett fished his
favourite swim with a small method feeder and netted 15 skimmer
bream up to 2lb as well as a solitary tench of 7lb. Lee
Jackson started his day with a small tench of 3lb 7oz , before
landing a much bigger fish of 7lb 12oz followed by a third tench of
5lb 2oz. James and Faye Turvey found the tench somewhat
unresponsive on their latest visit with Faye managing a single tench
of 4lb 4oz, whilst James landed two bream of 7lb 6oz and 5lb 13oz.
Anyone planning a trip to Willington Lake should take a pair of
boots or waders as the falling water level means the margins are
quite shallow in several areas and anglers may need to wade out to
safely land and return larger fish in a suitable depth of water.
However, anglers need to take care whilst wading as some of the
margins are quite soft and you can sink several inches into the
silt.

Earlier in the week Faye and James Turvey visited the Ouse at Little
Paxton. This was Faye’s first trip of the season and she
decided to target the barbel and she was delighted when a barbel of
5lb 14oz picked up her bait. Meanwhile James targeted the
perch and managed over a dozen around the 1lb mark, two jack
pike and a surprise chub of 4lb 9oz. Pete Allen managed to find a
clear spot amongst the weed along Broom River and managed some nice
roach with his best fish weighing 1lb 12oz.

Week ending 12th July 2015

A common theme across Shefford &
District AA waters has been the amount of litter left by thoughtless
and irresponsible anglers. There is no excuse for leaving
litter and anyone found doing so can expect to receive a ban from
the club. On a more positive note members are enjoying some
good catches on the lakes with tench remaining a reliable species
during the hot weather.
James Turvey has again been targeting the tincas at Willington Lake
and managed three tench on his first visit weighing 7lb 8oz, 4lb
12oz and 6lb 3oz. Meanwhile his fishing partner Kevin Wilkins
managed to land a 5lb tench and an 8lb 2oz bream. Returning later
in the week James caught five more tench (biggest 6lb 14oz), a 5lb
14oz bream and a 1lb roach, as well as losing a large tench that
shed the hook just as it came to the landing net.
Early in the week the carp at Broom Lake were basking in the surface
layers, but the cooler conditions over the weekend triggered several
fish to feed, with an unconfirmed report of a 29lb carp being
landed. New member Julie Shadbolt tempted a pristine 14lb
common. Whilst the bream were proving elusive, plenty of tench
were caught during the week with John Wigg taking three good tench
in 4 ‘put-ins’ on the pole. Good bags of roach were being
caught from most areas of the lake with sweetcorn and stewed wheat
the favourite baits for picking out the better quality fish.
The second match of the season is being held at Broom Lake on Sunday
the 26th July with the draw at 8am and fishing from 9am-3pm and
further details can be obtained from Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com).
The match will use pegs 1-5 & 30-42 and these pegs must be vacated
by midnight prior to the match, whilst pegs 6-29 remain open to
members.
There are relatively few members fishing the river venues at the
moment with several areas of the Ivel and its tributaries heavily
weeded. There are only a few swims currently fishable along
Broom River with weed and lilies often stretching from bank to bank
and a large willow has recently fallen across the path and river
upstream of the S-bend, which will restrict access until it is
removed.

Week ending 5th July 2015

With temperatures rarely below 20C the
carp were often reluctant to feed across Shefford & District AA
stillwaters, but were often very visible just under the surface.
The catfish at The Airman were the target for several members and
Tom Gaby managed two catfish to 36lb early in his session during
sultry daytime conditions prior to a violent overnight thunderstorm.
It is hoped to cut back some of the reeds over the next few weeks to
open up some of the swims, which may cause some minor disturbance
for those fishing in adjacent swims.
There have been relatively few anglers fishing Willington Lake and
although several areas are heavily weeded there are still plenty of
areas that remain fishable and weed free. Tench remain the
most reliable feeders with James Turvey managing four tench on his
most recent visit with the best fish weighing 5lb 13oz. Thomas
Farren reported a 6lb 7oz tench taken later in the week. The
margins are teeming with small fry suggesting that this has again
been a very successful year for spawning.
With the carp at Broom Lake often happy just to bask in the
sunshine, those fishing for silver fish have enjoyed most of the
action with roach and skimmer bream being the most reliable species
with the roach often feeding well up in the water. The second
match of the season is being held at Broom Lake on Sunday the 26th
July with the draw at 8am and fishing from 9am-3pm and further
details can be obtained from Nigel Gilbert (07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com). The match will use pegs 1-5 & 30-42 and
these pegs must be vacated by midnight prior to the match, whilst
pegs 6-29 remain open to members

Week ending 28th June 2015

With water temperatures continuing to
rise the carp are still engaged in spawning activity across Shefford
& District AA stillwaters, but other species are offering reliable
sport for members. The catfish at The Airman were back on the
feed with two fish over 40lb reported. Colin Warne
elected to move swims after a lack of activity overnight and within
a few hours of moving connected with a powerful 43lb catfish during
the afternoon. Later that night Daniel Munnery set a new PB
when he landed a 43lb 4oz catfish. Earlier in the week Mark
Austin tempted a good tench that weighed exactly 7lb.
Willington Lake hosted the first match of the season and some of the
eight anglers taking part were confronted by floating weed that made
presentation difficult and the outcome could have been a lot
different if all the better quality fish that were hooked had been
landed. Most catches were made up of mixed bags of
silver fish that included a number of skimmer bream and a surprising
number of bleak that have been stranded in the lake after it last
flooded some 18 months ago. John Wigg also included a tench in
his bag of fish to win with a weight of 7lb 11oz with Dave Baker
second with 6lb 4oz, just ahead of Alec Davies with 5lb 15oz in
third. The other point scorers were Malcolm Gibbs fourth with
4lb 7oz and Neil Bygrave fifth with 4lb 6oz. During the week
the tench had been the most reliable feeders often picking up baits
intended for the carp. James Turvey specifically targeted the
tench and tempted a new PB male tench of 7lb 10oz, adding another
smaller tench of 4lb 10oz.
The carp at Broom Lake have spent most of the sunny days just
cruising around under the surface showing little interest in anglers
baits; however, a number of fish to upper doubles have been tempted
to feed during the hours of darkness or the first few hours of
daylight. Currently one of the most reliable methods is to
fish tight to the near margins over just a few free offerings.
Several tench mainly in the 4-6lb bracket have been caught during
the week with none of the larger specimens reported. The
silver fish offer reliable sport to anglers float fishing the
margins using either pole or waggler tactics. Maggot is almost
guaranteed to bring instant bites but will also attract shoals of
small roach and perch into the swim, and anglers persevering with
more selective baits such as sweetcorn are enjoying good bags better
quality roach and skimmer bream. Pike are never far from the
shoals of silver fish and new member Del Pilsbury managed two pike
on his first trip to the venue.
Reports from the rivers have been sparse but anglers have been
reporting healthy numbers of smaller fish across all river venues.
James Turvey landed a succession of small chub on his first trip to
the Ouse at Pavenham this season, but also noted an increase in the
signal crayfish population. Meanwhile Dave Baker decided to
explore the section of the Ivel Navigation upstream of Stanford Lock
armed with just a simple stick float set up and centrepin reel.
Despite the overgrown banks Dave managed to find a couple of spots
to fish and enjoyed plenty of action from small chub, roach and dace
caught on maggot. Dave’s catch also including three small
barbel presumably from the stockings made by the Environment Agency
in recent years at the Horsebridge further upstream.

Week ending 21st June 2015

It was with great sadness that we heard
Shefford & District AA life member Tony Gray had died suddenly on
Friday 12th June aged 69. Tony was a long serving and active
member of the Committee prior to being made a life member in 2005.
Tony’s funeral will be held at 12.30 on Monday 6th July at Harwood
Park Crematorium in Stevenage.
Former Chairman, Pete Allen made an excellent start to the new river
season from an undisclosed venue. Pete began by landing two
chub well over 5lb that were rather ‘hollow’ following spawning, but
followed this up with an excellent early season specimen of 7lb 6oz
that is likely to weigh significantly more come the winter months.
The weir pool at Little Paxton was a popular venue for the first few
days of the river season with most members hoping to catch a double
figure barbel, but bream and eels proved to be the most reliable
feeders with the odd chub also reported. Liam Prout decided to
fish Broom River and his maggot bait tempted Liam’s first ever river
tench, a species that is reasonably prevalent along this relatively
slow stretch of the Ivel.
A series of nine matches is being held on the last Sunday of each
month, using our three main lakes as the venues. The first match of
the season is being held at Willington Lake this Sunday 28th June
with the draw at 8am and fishing from 9am-3pm (further details can
be obtained from Nigel Gilbert on 07467 171637 or
sdaamatch@gmail.com).
The south and west banks of the lake (from the kissing gate up to
the wooded area at the western end of the lake) are reserved for the
match and must be vacated by midnight prior to the match.
During the week the undergrowth along the track has been cut back to
make it easier to park off the track and allow farm vehicles access
to the fields. The carp were very visible during the week
cruising around just under the surface and were obviously getting
ready to spawn. Tench continue to be the most reliable feeders
with some anglers enjoying multiple captures with fish to just over
7lb. Unfortunately, we have received reports of a minority of
carp anglers mistreating tench and bream by not using a landing net
for these species and trying to shake the hooks out in the margins,
which is causing mouth damage to these fish. Landing nets
should be used to help land all species that are hooked (apart from
those weighing just a few ounces) and hooks carefully removed,
before returning all fish safely to the water.
The carp fishing at Broom Lake is still unpredictable with the fish
yet to finish spawning and locating any feeding fish is often
proving difficult. A strong wind always triggers the carp into
feeding and this was the case when Paul Bray enjoyed a memorable
session recently after finding the carp crashing all over one corner
of the lake. Paul’s bite indicators were rarely silent as a
procession of carp picked up his baits, topped by two carp over the
20lb mark and he went home thoroughly exhausted. Paul caught
all his fish on single hook baits with no free offerings, which is
perhaps a lesson for those anglers who insist on piling in several
kilos of bait at the start of their sessions.
There have been relatively few reports from The Airman with just the
odd carp and tench reported during the week. The floating dead
reeds have been removed from several swims along the road side to
make them easier to fish and lilies have been planted to the sides
of swims 8 and 9, so please try not to disturb these.